Ilya V. Anoshkin

Synthesis of graphene nanoribbons encapsulated in single-walled carbon nanotubes.

A novel material, graphene nanoribbons encapsulated in single-walled carbon nanotubes (GNR@SWNT), was synthesized using confined polymerization and fusion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. Formation of the GNR is possible due to confinement effects provided by the one-dimensional space inside nanotubes, which helps to align coronene or perylene molecules edge to edge to achieve dimerization and oligomerization of the molecules into long nanoribbons. Almost 100% filling of SWNT with GNR is achieved while nanoribbon length is limited only by the length of the encapsulating nanotube. The PAH fusion reaction provides a very simple and easily scalable method to synthesize GNR@SWNT in macroscopic amounts. First-principle simulations indicate that encapsulation of the GNRs is energetically favorable and that the electronic structure of the encapsulated GNRs is the same as for the free-standing ones, pointing to possible applications of the GNR@SWNT structures in photonics and nanoelectronics.

Modifying Native Nanocellulose Aerogels with Carbon Nanotubes for Mechanoresponsive Conductivity and Pressure Sensing

Mechanically excellent native cellulose nanofibers that are cleaved from plant cell walls have been modified by functionalized few-walled carbon nanotubes for hybrid nanofiber/nanotube aerogels. They show elastic mechanical behavior in combination with reversible electrical response under compression allowing responsive conductivity and pressure sensing. The concept combines wide availability of nanocellulosics and electrical functionality of carbon nanotubes synergistically.

Chiral-Selective Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Lattice-Mismatched Epitaxial Cobalt Nanoparticles

Controlling chirality in growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is important for exploiting their practical applications. For long it has been conceptually conceived that the structural control of SWNTs is potentially achievable by fabricating nanoparticle catalysts with proper structures on crystalline substrates via epitaxial growth techniques. Here, we have accomplished epitaxial formation of monometallic Co nanoparticles with well-defined crystal structure, and its use as a catalyst in the selective growth of SWNTs. Dynamics of Co nanoparticles formation and SWNT growth inside an atomic-resolution environmental transmission electron microscope at a low CO pressure was recorded. We achieved highly preferential growth of semiconducting SWNTs (~90%) with an exceptionally large population of (6, 5) tubes (53%) in an ambient CO atmosphere. Particularly, we also demonstrated high enrichment in (7, 6) and (9, 4) at a low growth temperature. These findings open new perspectives both for structural control of SWNTs and for elucidating the growth mechanisms.

Hydrogenation, purification, and unzipping of carbon nanotubes by reaction with molecular hydrogen: road to graphane nanoribbons.

Reaction of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with hydrogen gas was studied in a temperature interval of 400-550 °C and at hydrogen pressure of 50 bar. Hydrogenation of nanotubes was observed for samples treated at 400-450 °C with about 1/3 of carbon atoms forming covalent C-H bonds, whereas hydrogen treatment at higher temperatures (550 °C) occurs as an etching. Unzipping of some SWNTs into graphene nanoribbons is observed as a result of hydrogenation at 400-550 °C. Annealing in hydrogen gas at elevated conditions for prolonged periods of time (72 h) is demonstrated to result also in nanotube opening, purification of nanotubes from amorphous carbon, and removal of carbon coatings from Fe catalyst particles, which allows their complete elimination by acid treatment.

Optical Properties of Graphene Nanoribbons Encapsulated in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We report the photoluminescence (PL) from graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) encapsulated in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). New PL spectral features originating from GNRs have been detected in the visible spectral range. PL peaks from GNRs have resonant character, and their positions depend on the ribbon geometrical structure in accordance with the theoretical predictions. GNRs were synthesized using confined polymerization and fusion of coronene molecules. GNR@SWCNTs material demonstrates a bright photoluminescence both in infrared (IR) and visible regions. The photoluminescence excitation mapping in the near-IR spectral range has revealed the geometry-dependent shifts of the SWCNT peaks (up to 11 meV in excitation and emission) after the process of polymerization of coronene molecules inside the nanotubes. This behavior has been attributed to the strain of SWCNTs induced by insertion of the coronene molecules.

Direct Synthesis of Carbon Nanofibers on Cement Particles

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nanofibers (CNFs) are promising candidates for the next generation of high-performance structural and multifunctional composite materials. One of the largest obstacles to creating strong, electrically or thermally conductive CNT–CNF composites is the difficulty of getting a good dispersion of the carbon nanomaterials in a matrix. Typically, time-consuming steps are required in purifying and functionalizing the carbon nanomaterial. A new approach under which CNTs–CNFs are grown directly on the surface of matrix and matrix precursor particles is proposed. Cement was selected as the precursor matrix, since it is the most important construction material. A novel cement hybrid material (CHM) was synthesized in which CNTs and CNFs are attached to the cement particles by two different methods: screw feeder and fluidized bed reactors. CHM has been proved to increase the compressive strength by two times and the electrical conductivity of the hardened paste by 40 times.

Infrared properties of randomly oriented silver nanowires

We experimentally investigated the infrared properties of a set of randomly oriented silver nanowires films deposited onto glass substrate. Infrared emission of the obtained films was characterized in the long infrared range, i.e., 8–12 μm, by observing their temperature evolution under heating regime with a focal plane array infrared camera as well as a thermocouple. The obtained experimental results showed that the infrared emission from a mesh composed of silver nanowires might be tailored by opportunely assessing preparation condition, such as the metal filling factor. From the theoretical point of view, the real and imaginary part of the electrical permittivity components were retrieved from the calculations of effective permittivities of in-plane randomly oriented metallic wires, thus giving the refractive index and extinction coefficients for the four different silver nanowires meshes. Due to the correspondence between emissivity and absorbance, the experimental results are interpreted with the rec...

Transparent and flexible high-performance supercapacitors based on single-walled carbon nanotube films

Transparent and flexible energy storage devices have garnered great interest due to their suitability for display, sensor and photovoltaic applications. In this paper, we report the application of aerosol synthesized and dry deposited single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films as electrodes for an electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC). SWCNT films exhibit extremely large specific capacitance (178 F g(-1) or 552 μF cm(-2)), high optical transparency (92%) and stability for 10 000 charge/discharge cycles. A transparent and flexible EDLC prototype is constructed with a polyethylene casing and a gel electrolyte.

Single-walled carbon nanotube networks for ethanol vapor sensing applications

AbstractNetworks of pristine high quality single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), the SWNTs after Ar-plasma treatment (from 2 to 12 min) and carbon nanobuds (CNBs) have been tested for ethanol vapor sensing. It was found that the pristine high quality SWNTs do not exhibit any ethanol sensitivity, while the introduction of defects in the tubes results in the appearance of the ethanol sensitivity. The CNB network showed ethanol sensitivity without plasma treatment. Both CNB and low defect (after 3 min treatment) SWNT networks exhibit significant drift in the resistance baseline, while heavily plasma-treated (9 min) SWNTs exhibited high ethanol vapor sensitivity without the baseline change. The mechanisms of the ethanol sensitivity and stability after the plasma irradiation are attributed to the formation of sensitive dangling bonds in the SWNTs and formation of defect channels facilitating access of the ethanol vapor to all parts of the bundled nanotubes.

Coronene Encapsulation in Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Stacked Columns, Peapods, and Nanoribbons

Encapsulation of coronene inside single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was studied under various conditions. Under high vacuum, two main types of molecular encapsulation were observed by using transmission electron microscopy: coronene dimers and molecular stacking columns perpendicular or tilted (45-60°) with regard to the axis of the SWNTs. A relatively small number of short nanoribbons or polymerized coronene molecular chains were observed. However, experiments performed under an argon atmosphere (0.17 MPa) revealed reactions between the coronene molecules and the formation of hydrogen-terminated graphene nanoribbons. It was also observed that the morphology of the encapsulated products depend on the diameter of the SWNTs. The experimental results are explained by using density functional theory calculations through the energies of the coronene molecules inside the SWNTs, which depend on the orientation of the molecules and the diameter of the tubes.