Carbon nanotubes and fullerenes | Nature Nanotechnology

Article | 06 June 2024

Strong chiroptical nonlinearity in coherently stacked boron nitride nanotubes

Multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes, featuring coherently stacked structures with monochirality, homo-handedness and unipolarity among the component tubes, show a large nonlinear chiroptical response.

Chaojie Ma
, Chenjun Ma
& Kaihui Liu

Article
16 April 2024 | Open Access

Giant nanomechanical energy storage capacity in twisted single-walled carbon nanotube ropes

A single-walled carbon nanotube spring stores three times more mechanical energy than a lithium-ion battery, while offering wide temperature stability and posing no explosion risk.

Shigenori Utsumi
, Sanjeev Kumar Ujjain
& Katsumi Kaneko

Article | 30 December 2022

Breakdown of the Nernst–Einstein relation in carbon nanotube porins

K⁺ ions in sub-1-nm-diameter carbon nanotube pores are found to disobey the Nernst–Einstein relation by three orders of magnitude. This behaviour results from drastically different mechanisms for ion diffusion and electromigration inside these channels.

Zhongwu Li
, Rahul Prasanna Misra
& Aleksandr Noy

Article | 12 September 2022

Carbon nanotube uptake in cyanobacteria for near-infrared imaging and enhanced bioelectricity generation in living photovoltaics

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have unique optoelectronic properties that make them suitable for applications ranging from phototherapy to imaging and sensing, but their uptake has mainly been explored in eukaryotic cells. Here the authors explore the interaction of SWCNTs with cyanobacteria, showing that they are spontaneously taken up by cells only when coated with positive charges, opening the possibility of prokaryotic-based biotechnology applications.

Alessandra Antonucci
, Melania Reggente
& Ardemis A. Boghossian

Article | 30 May 2022

A wavelength-induced frequency filtering method for fluorescent nanosensors in vivo

An optical technique is developed that extends the capabilities of fluorescent nanosensors into previously inaccessible ultradeep in vivo locations, including the brain, without the use of fibre optic or cranial window insertion.

Volodymyr B. Koman
, Naveed A. Bakh
& Michael S. Strano

Article | 20 January 2022

Soft-lock drawing of super-aligned carbon nanotube bundles for nanometre electrical contacts

A non-destructive soft-lock drawing method can achieve carbon nanotube arrays with ultraclean surfaces and a very high degree of alignment. Such arrays could be used as nano-sized electrical contacts of high-density monolayer MoS₂ transistors.

Yunfan Guo
, Enzheng Shi
& Jing Kong

Article | 15 November 2021

Electronic thermal transport measurement in low-dimensional materials with graphene non-local noise thermometry

Nonlocal noise thermometry enables experimental probing of energy transport in emergent states of matter and devices in low dimensions.

Jonah Waissman
, Laurel E. Anderson
& Philip Kim

Article | 12 October 2020

A Gd@C₈₂ single-molecule electret

A Gd@C₈₂ molecule shows electric polarization switching behaviour under a gate bias voltage, thus demonstrating a single-molecule electret device.

Kangkang Zhang
, Cong Wang
& Baigeng Wang

Article | 27 January 2020

Pro-efferocytic nanoparticles are specifically taken up by lesional macrophages and prevent atherosclerosis

Single-walled carbon nanotubes can restore phagocytotic properties of macrophages in artherosclerotic plaques to promote plaque clearance and combat artherosclerosis.

Alyssa M. Flores
, Niloufar Hosseini-Nassab
& Nicholas J. Leeper

Letter | 09 December 2019

Topological frustration induces unconventional magnetism in a nanographene

Topological frustration in the π-electron network of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon C₃₈H₁₈ yields unpaired electrons and a magnetically non-trivial ground state. Here, the authors synthesize this molecule, known as Clar’s goblet, on Au(111) and characterize the antiferromagnetic ground state with scanning tunnelling microscopy.

Shantanu Mishra
, Doreen Beyer
& Roman Fasel

News & Views | 24 June 2019

Far-reaching effects from carbon nanotubes

A single dose of carbon nanotubes enhances breast cancer metastasis in mouse models.

Iseult Lynch

Article | 25 February 2019

Chloroplast-selective gene delivery and expression in planta using chitosan-complexed single-walled carbon nanotube carriers

Chitosan-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes enable selective gene delivery to the chloroplasts of mature living plants without external mechanical aid.

Seon-Yeong Kwak
, Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew
& Michael S. Strano

Article | 14 January 2019

Nanomechanical pump–probe measurements of insulating electronic states in a carbon nanotube

A new method uses nanomechanical motion to probe internal electron dynamics in an insulator.

Ilya Khivrich
, Aashish A. Clerk
& Shahal Ilani

Article | 20 August 2018

An integrated self-healable electronic skin system fabricated via dynamic reconstruction of a nanostructured conducting network

Self-reconstruction of conducting nanostructures assisted by a dynamically crosslinked polymer network enables the fabrication of autonomous self-healable and stretchable multi-component electronic skin.

Donghee Son
, Jiheong Kang
& Zhenan Bao

Article | 14 May 2018

Carbon nanotube bundles with tensile strength over 80 GPa

Ultralong defect-free and well-aligned carbon nanotube bundles exhibit the highest tensile strength among known strong fibres.

Yunxiang Bai
, Rufan Zhang
& Fei Wei

Article | 05 March 2018

High-flux water desalination with interfacial salt sieving effect in nanoporous carbon composite membranes

Nanoporous carbon composite membranes exhibit 100% salt rejection and high water flux due to the interfacial sieving effect and the fast transport of vapour in carbon pores, respectively.

Wei Chen
, Shuyu Chen
& Ping Sheng

Correspondence | 06 December 2017

Reply to 'On phonons and water flow enhancement in carbon nanotubes'

Ming Ma
, Francois Grey
& Quanshui Zheng

Correspondence | 06 December 2017

On phonons and water flow enhancement in carbon nanotubes

Eduardo R. Cruz-Chú
, Ermioni Papadopoulou
& Petros Koumoutsakos

Research Highlights | 07 November 2017

Carbon nitrides get close

Adam Weingarten

Research Highlights | 07 November 2017

Our choice from the recent literature

Article | 02 October 2017

Inner- and outer-wall sorting of double-walled carbon nanotubes

For the first time, four different double-walled carbon nanotubes were sorted via aqueous gel permeation according to the electronic coupling between the inner and outer wall.

Han Li
, Georgy Gordeev
& Benjamin Scott Flavel

Letter | 03 July 2017

High-speed logic integrated circuits with solution-processed self-assembled carbon nanotubes

High-performance, CMOS-compatible ring-oscillators based on carbon nanotubes are fabricated by scalable and fully manufacturable processes.

Shu-Jen Han
, Jianshi Tang
& Wilfried Haensch

Editorial | 06 June 2017

More carbon and less salt

We take a closer look at recent developments in research on various strategies to use carbon nanostructures for water desalination.

News & Views | 29 May 2017

Carbon nanotubes keep up the heat

Applying high-potential alternating current to a carbon-nanotube–polymer composite film provides a self-heating membrane that enhances desalination performance of high-salinity brines by membrane distillation.

Chanhee Boo
& Menachem Elimelech

Article | 29 May 2017

Frequency-dependent stability of CNT Joule heaters in ionizable media and desalination processes

Electro-oxidation of CNT Joule heaters can be eliminated through the application of sufficiently high a.c. frequencies, which enables their use as self-heating membranes in membrane distillation.

Alexander V. Dudchenko
, Chuxiao Chen
& David Jassby

Research Highlights | 10 January 2017

Nanotube resolution

Olga Bubnova

Research Highlights | 10 January 2017

Our choice from the recent literature

Article | 28 November 2016

Observation of extreme phase transition temperatures of water confined inside isolated carbon nanotubes

A vibrational spectroscopy technique is used to study vapour, liquid and solid water within isolated carbon nanotubes and reveals phase transitions that show an extreme sensitivity to nanotube diameter, with melting temperatures higher than 100 °C for 1.05 and 1.06 nm diameter nanotubes and below 0 °C for 1.24 and 1.44 nm diameter nanotubes.

Kumar Varoon Agrawal
, Steven Shimizu
& Michael S. Strano

Letter | 21 November 2016

Single-nanotube tracking reveals the nanoscale organization of the extracellular space in the live brain

A super-resolution imaging technique based on single-nanotube tracking is used to study the nanoscale organization and local viscosity of the brain extracellular space.

Antoine G. Godin
, Juan A. Varela
& Laurent Cognet

Article | 22 August 2016

Multiwalled nanotube faceting unravelled

The phenomenon of circumferential faceting in multiwalled nanotubes of general chirality and identity is rationalized in terms of interwall registry patterns between adjacent layers of curved hexagonal lattices.

Itai Leven
, Roberto Guerra
& Oded Hod

Research Highlights | 07 June 2016

Doubling down on C₆₀

Bryden Le Bailly

Editorial | 07 June 2016

Inspirational molecules

Harry Kroto, buckminsterfullerene and an enduring legacy.

Thesis | 07 June 2016

Are we ready for spray-on carbon nanotubes?

As artists and manufacturers explore the use of spray-on carbon nanotube coatings, Andrew D. Maynard explores the state of the science around nanotube safety.

Andrew D. Maynard

Research Highlights | 07 June 2016

Our choice from the recent literature

Article | 04 April 2016

Wafer-scale monodomain films of spontaneously aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes

Large films of aligned and closely packed single-walled carbon nanotubes can be prepared through slow vacuum filtration, and used to create terahertz polarizers, thin-film transistors, polarized light emission devices, and polarization-sensitive detectors.

Xiaowei He
, Weilu Gao
& Junichiro Kono

Article | 04 April 2016

Ultrafast proton transport in sub-1-nm diameter carbon nanotube porins

Carbon nanotube porins with diameters of 0.8 nm can confine water to a one-dimensional chain and support proton transport rates that exceed those of bulk water by an order of magnitude.

Ramya H. Tunuguntla
, Frances I. Allen
& Aleksandr Noy

Letter | 14 March 2016

Aggregated single-walled carbon nanotubes attenuate the behavioural and neurochemical effects of methamphetamine in mice

Single-walled carbon nanotubes in an aggregated form can inhibit the rewarding and psychomotor-stimulating effects of methamphetamine, and can control relapse to drug-seeking behaviour in mice.

Xue Xue
, Jing-Yu Yang
& Xing-Jie Liang

Article | 22 February 2016

Physically unclonable cryptographic primitives using self-assembled carbon nanotubes

Random two-dimensional arrays of carbon nanotubes, which are self-assembled via ion-exchange chemistry, can be used to create cryptographic keys by determining the connection yield and switching type of the nanotube devices.

Zhaoying Hu
, Jose Miguel M. Lobez Comeras
& Shu-Jen Han

Thesis | 07 January 2016

Less is Moore

Predictions for the development of microelectronics provide a valuable example about the virtues of measured promises in nanotechnology, as Chris Toumey explains.

Chris Toumey

Letter | 28 September 2015

A carbon nanotube optical rectenna

A metal–insulator–metal architecture in which one metal is replaced by vertically aligned carbon nanotube antennae is used to convert light into direct current.

Asha Sharma
, Virendra Singh
& Baratunde A. Cola

Letter | 13 July 2015

Room-temperature single-photon generation from solitary dopants of carbon nanotubes

The incorporation of carbon nanotubes in a silica matrix produces oxygen dopant states that can emit single photons at room temperature and at wavelengths relevant for applications in telecommunications.

Xuedan Ma
, Nicolai F. Hartmann
& Han Htoon

Letter | 06 July 2015

Water transport inside carbon nanotubes mediated by phonon-induced oscillating friction

Molecular dynamics simulations of water molecules inside carbon nanotubes show a strong coupling between the flow of water and the phonon modes of nanotubes that enhance diffusion.

Ming Ma
, François Grey
& Quanshui Zheng

News & Views | 02 February 2015

Dipoles align inside a nanotube

Molecular dipoles can self-assemble in a head-to-tail fashion inside single-walled carbon nanotubes to form a material with a large second-order nonlinear optical response.

Yong Zhang
& Werner J. Blau

Letter | 02 February 2015

Asymmetric dyes align inside carbon nanotubes to yield a large nonlinear optical response

Asymmetric dye molecules encapsulated inside single-walled carbon nanotubes align in a head-to-tail fashion to obtain a large cooperative nonlinear optical response.

Sofie Cambré
, Jochen Campo
& Wim Wenseleers

News & Views | 03 December 2014

Nanotubes resound better

Advanced measurement techniques combined with a tightly controlled noise environment have enabled the creation of carbon nanotube-based mechanical resonators with quality factors of up to five million.

Ilya Khivrich
& Shahal Ilani

Research Highlights | 03 September 2014

Grown from seed

Owain Vaughan

Research Highlights | 03 September 2014

Our choice from the recent literature

Article | 11 May 2014

Scalable synthesis of hierarchically structured carbon nanotube–graphene fibres for capacitive energy storage

Hierarchical hybrid carbon fibres consisting of a network of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide and single-walled carbon nanotubes are synthesized and subsequently used to make a supercapacitor with high volumetric energy density.