EXPLORING THE MECHANISM OF LONGITUDINAL CUTTING IN NITROGEN-DOPED MULTIWALLED CARBON NANOTUBES (N-MWCNTS)

摘要

Carbon nanotubes are boosting research activity in several fields because of unique electronic and mechanical properties. These materials are broadly classified as single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and are often drawn as perfect cylinders of graphene. Doping carbon nanotubes with nitrogen is a method for tuning the properties of nanotubes. The morphology of nitrogen doped MWCNTs (N-MWCNTs) is best described as 'bamboo' or 'nesting cups', rather than as a true tubular structure. We have recently discovered that treatment of stacked cup N-MWCNTs with lithium in liquid ammonia (the Birch reduction) results in a dramatic ripping open of the nanotubes. To explore different possible mechanisms, we prepared aligned arrays N-MWCNTs, and infiltrated these arrays with different polymers. This technique allowed the end of the N-MWNTs open, so that chemistry is performed on the open ends alone.