Carbon nanotube nanocomposites: quasi 1-dimensional structures for electron transfer

摘要

We integrated single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT), several water-soluble pyrene derivatives, which either bear negatively (pyrene-) or positively charged (pyrene+) charged ionic headgroups, and a series of water-soluble metalloporphyrins (MP8+/MP8-) into functional nanohybrids through a combination of associative van-der-Waals and electrostatic interactions. The resulting SWNT / pyrene and SWNT / pyrene / MP were characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic means and were found to form stable nanohybrid structures in aqueous media. When the nanohybrid systems are photoexcited with visible light, a rapid intrahybrid charge separation causes the reduction of the electron accepting SWNT and, simultaneously, the oxidation of the electron donating MP. Beneficial are charge recombination dynamics that are located in the Marcus-inverted region.