• 文献标题:   Size, Structure, and Helical Twist of Graphene Nanoribbons Controlled by Confinement in Carbon Nanotubes
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   CHAMBERLAIN TW, BISKUPEK J, RANCE GA, CHUVILIN A, ALEXANDER TJ, BICHOUTSKAIA E, KAISER U, KHLOBYSTOV AN
  • 作者关键词:   carbon nanotube, graphene nanoribbon, nanoreactor, hostguest structure, aberrationcorrected highresolution transmission electron microscopy
  • 出版物名称:   ACS NANO
  • ISSN:   1936-0851 EI 1936-086X
  • 通讯作者地址:   Univ Nottingham
  • 被引频次:   92
  • DOI:   10.1021/nn300137j
  • 出版年:   2012

▎ 摘  要

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) act as effident nanoreactors, templating the assembly of sulfur-terminated graphene nanoribbons (S-GNRs) with different sizes, structures, and conformations. Spontaneous formation of nanoribbons from small sulfur-containing molecules is efficiently triggered by heat treatment or by an 80 keV electron beam. S-GNRs form readily in CNTs with internal diameters between 1 and 2 nm. Outside of this optimum range, nanotubes narrower than 1 nm do not have sufficient space to accommodate the 2D structure of S-GNRs, while nanotubes wider than 2 nm do not provide effident confinement for unidirectional S-GNR growth, thus neither can support nanoribbon formation. Theoretical calculations show that the thermodynamic stability of nanoribbons is dependent on the S-GNR edge structure and, to a lesser extent, the width of the nanoribbon. For nanoribbons of similar widths, the polythiaperipolycene-type edges of zigzag S-GNRs are more stable than the polythiophene-type edges of armchair S-GNRs. Both the edge structure and the width define the electronic properties of S-GNRs which can vary widely from metallic to semiconductor to insulator. The encapsulated S-GNRs exhibit diverse dynamic behavior, Including rotation, translation, and helical twisting Inside the nanotube, which offers a mechanism for control of the electronic properties of the graphene nanoribbon via confinement at the nanoscale.