Quantifying the semiconducting fraction in single-walled carbon nanotube samples through comparative atomic force and photoluminescence microscopies

Anton V Naumov; Oleg A Kuznetsov; Avetik R Harutyunyan; Alexander A Green; Mark C Hersam; Daniel E Resasco; Pavel N Nikolaev; R Bruce Weisman

doi:10.1021/nl9014342

Quantifying the semiconducting fraction in single-walled carbon nanotube samples through comparative atomic force and photoluminescence microscopies

Nano Lett. 2009 Sep;9(9):3203-8. doi: 10.1021/nl9014342.

Authors

Anton V Naumov¹, Oleg A Kuznetsov, Avetik R Harutyunyan, Alexander A Green, Mark C Hersam, Daniel E Resasco, Pavel N Nikolaev, R Bruce Weisman

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemistry, and Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.

PMID: 19640001
DOI: 10.1021/nl9014342

Abstract

A new method was used to measure the fraction of semiconducting nanotubes in various as-grown or processed single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) samples. SWCNT number densities were compared in images from near-IR photoluminescence (semiconducting species) and AFM (all species) to compute the semiconducting fraction. The results show large variations among growth methods and effective sorting by density gradient ultracentrifugation. This counting-based method provides important information about SWCNT sample compositions that can guide controlled growth methods and help calibrate bulk characterization techniques.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Luminescent Measurements / methods*
Materials Testing
Microscopy, Atomic Force / methods*
Nanotechnology / methods*
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Particle Size
Semiconductors
Surface Properties

Substances

Nanotubes, Carbon