Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.135, No.16, 6356-6362, 2013
Helicity-Selective Photoreaction of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Organosulfur Compounds in the Presence of Oxygen
This report describes a helicity-selective photoreaction of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with disulfide in the presence of oxygen. The SWNTs were characterized using absorption, photoluminescence (PL), Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and current voltage (I V) measurements. Results showed remarkable helicity-selective (metallic SWNTs/serniconducting SWNTs and diameter) functionalization of SWNTs. The reaction rate decreases in the order of metallic SWNTs > semiconducting SWNTs and small-diameter SWNTs > large-diameter SWNTs. Control experiments conducted under various experimental conditions and ESR and femtosecond laser flash photolysis measurements revealed that the helicity-selective reaction proceeds via a photoinduced electron transfer reaction. The PL and I V measurements showed that the photoreaction is effective not only to control SWNT conductivity but also for the band gap modulation of semiconducting SWNTs.