Practical routes to isolating semiconducting and metallic single walled carbon nanotubes and key studies on their electronic and optical properties

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Mark H. Rümmeli
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2009 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 158702086

• Final Report Year: 2014

Final Report Abstract

The synthesis and purification of single walled carbon nanotubes was indeed successful. Two approaches were followed for the synthesis, namely, laser ablation synthesis and pryolysis chemical vapor deposition routes. High yield single walled carbon nanotubes were obtained from the laser ablation approach, while the pyrolysis approach was les successful in providing high yield single walled carbon nanotubes. The separation techniques adopted by the Polish partner was successful to a degree in which yields of metallic or semiconducting single walled carbon nanotubes up to ca 85% were achieved. Unfortunately, this yield was insufficient for the spectroscopic evaluations which by the nature of the questions to be answered required near 100% yield of each type of tube. Despite this drawback, the work evolved in to an improved understanding of both carbon nanotubes and graphene using non‐metal catalysts. In addition, the characterization of these nano‐materials led to the development of various in situ transmission electron microscopy studies with both carbon nanotubes and graphene. Indeed the in situ studies covered interesting aspects of electron beam ‐specimen interactions, graphene growth from amorphous carbon and studies of graphene under electrical bias.

Publications

• In situ observations of fullerene fusion and ejection in carbon nanotubes, Nanoscale 2 (2010) Nr. 10, S. 2077‐ 2079
  S. Gorantla, F. Boerrnert, A. Bachmatiuk, M. Dimitrakopoulou, R. Schoenfelder, F. Schaeffel, J. Thomas, T. Gemming, E. Borowiak‐Palen, J.H. Warner, B.I. Yakobson, J. Eckert, B. Buechner, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Gel‐based separation of single‐walled carbon nanotubes for metallic and semiconducting fractions, Materials Research Bulletin 46 (2011), S. 1535‐1539
  P. Lukaszczuk, E. Borowiak‐Palen, M.H. Ruemmeli, R.J. Kalenczuk
  
• Graphene: Piecing it together, Advanced Materials 23 (2011), S. 4471‐4490
  M.H. Ruemmeli, C.G. Rocha, F. Ortmann, I. Ibrahim, H. Sevincli, F. Boerrnert, J. Kunstmann, A. Bachmatiuk, M. Poetschke, M. Shiraishi, M. Meyyappan, B. Buechner, S. Roche, G. Cuniberti
  
• Hydrogen‐induced self‐assembly of helical carbon nanostructures from ethanol over SiO2 catalysts, Journal of Applied Physics 109 (2011) Nr. 9, S. 94317/1‐4
  A. Bachmatiuk, F. Boerrnert, V. Hoffmann, D. Lindackers, J.‐H. Lin, B. Buechner, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Metallization and investigation of electrical properties of in vitro recrystallized mSbsC‐ eGFP assemblies, Nanotechnology 22 (2011) Nr. 37, S. 375606/1‐8
  N. Korkmaz, F. Boerrnert, D. Koehler, R.G. Mendes, A. Bachmatiuk, M.H. Ruemmeli, B. Buechner, L.M. Eng, G. Roedel
  
• Optimizing substrate surface and catalyst conditions for high yield chemical vapor deposition grown epitaxially aligned single‐walled carbon nanotubes, Carbon 49 (2011) Nr. 15, S. 5029‐5037
  I. Ibrahim, A. Bachmatiuk, F. Boerrnert, J. Blueher, U. Wolff, J.H. Warner, B. Buechner, G. Cuniberti, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Separation of surfactant functionalized single‐walled carbon nanotubes via free solution electrophoresis method, Central European Journal of Physics 9 (2011) Nr. 2, S. 325‐329
  B. Scheibe, M.H. Ruemmeli, E. Borowiak‐Palen, R.J. Kalenczuk
  
• Synthesis of carbon nanotubes with and without catalyst particles, Nanoscale Research Letters (2011) Nr. 6, S. 303
  M.H. Ruemmeli, A. Bachmatiuk, F. Boerrnert, F. Schaeffel, I. Ibrahim, K. Cendrowski, G. Simha‐ Martynkova, D. Placha, E. Borowiak‐Palen, G. Cuniberti, B. Buechner
  
• The catalytic potential of high‐K dielectrics for graphene formation, Applied Physics Letters 98 (2011) Nr. 7, S. 73110/1‐3
  A. Scott, A. Dianat, F. Boerrnert, A. Bachmatiuk, S. Zhang, J.H. Warner, E. Borowiak‐Palen, M. Knupfer, B. Buechner, G. Cuniberti, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Amorphous carbon under 80 kV electron irradiation: A means to make or break graphene, Advanced Materials 24 (2012), S. 5630‐5635
  F. Boerrnert, S.M. Avdoshenko, A. Bachmatiuk, I. Ibrahim, B. Buechner, G. Cuniberti, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Graphene at high bias: Cracking, layer by layer sublimation, and fusing, Nano Letters 12 (2012) Nr. 4, S. 1873‐1878
  A. Barreiro, F. Boerrnert, M.H. Ruemmeli, B. Buechner, L.M.K. Vandersypen
  
• Lattice expansion in seamless bilayer graphene constrictions at high bias, Nano Letters 12 (2012), S. 4455‐4459
  F. Boerrnert, A. Barreiro, D. Wolf, M.I. Katsnelson, B. Buechner, M.K. Lieven Vandersypen, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Programmable Sub‐ nanometer sculpting of graphene with electron beams, ACS nano 6 (2012) Nr. 11, S. 10327‐10334
  F. Boerrnert, L. Fu, S. Gorantla, M. Knupfer, B. Buechner, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Stabilization of carbon nanotubes by filling with inner tubes: An optical spectroscopy study on double‐walled carbon nanotubes under hydrostatic pressure, Physical Review B 86 (2012) Nr. 15, S. 155454/1‐5
  B. Anis, K. Haubner, F. Boerrnert, L. Dunsch, M.H. Ruemmeli, C.A. Kuntscher
  
• Surfactant free fractions of metallic and semiconducting single‐walled carbon nanotubes via optimised gel chromatography, Materials Research Bulletin 47 (2012) Nr. 3, S. 687‐69
  P. Lukaszczuk, M.H. Ruemmeli, M. Knupfer, R.J. Kalenczuk, E. Borowiak‐Palen
  
• High‐pressure optical microspectroscopy study on single‐walled carbon nanotubes encapsulating C60, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 117 (2013), S. 21995‐22001
  B. Anis, F. Boerrnert, M.H. Ruemmeli, C.A. Kuntscher
  
• Retro‐fitting an older (S)TEM with two Cs aberration correctors for 80 kV and 60 kV operation, Journal of Microscopy 249 (2013) Nr. 2, S. 87‐92
  F. Boerrnert, A. Bachmatiuk, S. Gorantla, D. Wolf, A. Lubk, B. Buechner, M.H. Ruemmeli
  
• Role of the pressure transmitting medium on the pressure effects in DWCNTs, Physica Status Solidi B 250 (2013) Nr. 12, S. 2616‐2621
  B. Anis, F. Boerrnert, M.H. Ruemmeli, C.A. Kuntscher
  
• Understanding the catalyst‐free transformation of amorphous carbon into graphene by current‐induced annealing, Scientific Reports 3 (2013), S. 1115/ 1‐6
  A. Barreiro, F. Boerrnert, S.M. Avdoshenko, B. Rellinghaus, G. Cuniberti, M.H. Ruemmeli, L.M.K. Vandersypen