Spectroscopic analysis of carbyne filled carbon nanotube hybrids
Spectroscopic analysis of carbyne filled carbon nanotube hybrids
Research questions:
The attractive properties of 1D carbon nanomaterials are determined not only by their chemical composition, but they are also critically influenced by their size, shape and interaction with the environment. In this context, carbyne is predicted to be the world strongest material [1] and we confirmed its materialization for the first time inside double walled CNTs (DWCNTs) in 2016 [2]. We still are leading this topic improving the carbyne material, accessing new properties and unravelling the energy gap of linear carbon chains [3] and the CNT host to carbyne interaction [4] as well as first results on extracting carbyne from the CNT host [5]. In this project, we aim to tailor the structure and properties of confined carbyne@CNT hybrids by using metallicity sorted SWCNTs with a narrow diameter distributionas precursors. Using advancedfillingreactions withcarbonaceous functionalelements followed by nanochemical reactions we will produce functionalized DWCNT and Carbyne@CNT hybrids. The samples will be analysed regarding their local electronic structure, energygap and optical properties using resonance Raman and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).
Sketch of DWCNT, C59N filled
SWCNT and carbyne@CNT
Methods:
In this project, we will use a new approach to synthesize carbyne inside metallicity sorted single walled CNTs as precursors and filling them with carbonaceous precursors as well as precursors containing heteroatoms and transition metals to transform them subsequently to doped DWCNTs with defined metallicity and carbyne filled CNT hybrids. Then we will analyse their optical properties and energy gap by resonance Raman spectroscopy [3] and valence band EELS [6] and their local bonding and unoccupied density of states by core level EELS [6,7]. These studies will be complemented by structural analysis using electron microscopy by J. Kotakoski and ab-initio EELS studies in G. Kresses project. With M. Arndt the application of carbyne@CNT in scattering events by alternative detection schemes and cooling in optical traps will be studied.
Time frame:
M1-18: training in Raman spectroscopy and EELS and synthesis of tailored carbyne@cnt; M19-24: optimizing monitored by in-situ spectrocopy (paper 1); M25-42: optical gap and local bonding environment in metallicity sorted carbyne@CNT (papers 2-4); M43-48: writing of thesis.
Participating DCAFM-faculty:
Pichler (PI), Kotakoski (structure of carbyne@CNT), Kresse (ab initio calculations of core level EELS), Arndt (carbyne@CNT in scattering events
[1] M. J. Liu, V. I. Artyukhov, H. Lee, F. B. Xu, B. I. Yakobson, ACSNano 7, 10075 (2013); DOI: 10.1021/nn404177r
[2] L. Shi,... P. Ayala, T. Pichler, Nature Materials 15, 634(2016). DOI: 10.1038/NMAT4617
[3] L. Shi,... P. Ayala, T.Pichler, Phys.Rev.Mat. 1, 075601 (2017). DOI:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.075601 [4] S. Heeg, ..., T. Pichler, L. Novotny, Nano Letters, 18, 5426(2018). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01681 [5] L. Shi, ..., P. Ayala, T. Pichler, ACS Nano, 12, 8477(2018). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b04006
[6]R. Senga, T. Pichler, K. Suenaga, Nano Letters 16, 3661(2016). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b00825 [7]R. Senga, T. Pichler, et al., Nano Letters, 18 , 3920(2018). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b01284