The Topological Structures of the Debundled Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on a Grid

Abstract

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements of individual single-walled single carbon nanotube (SWNT) have revealed the nature of trigonal warping of SWNTs in the solid-state. The SWNTs are prepared as isolated SWNTs both oxidized followed by amidation in N,N-dimethylformaide (DMF) and in amine surfactant in tetrahydrofuran(THF). The possibility of debundling SWNTs through their interaction with the amide functional group and amine molecules using steric hindrance has been experimentally explored. The measured topological structures of SWNTs in the solid-state differ from simple theoretical predictions and some possible mechanisms of bundling and debundling of SWNTs are discussed. We show that solid-state based characteristics are different from the solution-based characteristics.