Synfacts 2007(3): 0273-0273  
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-968202
Synthesis of Materials and Unnatural Products
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Unstacking of Cup-Stacked Carbon Nanotubes

Contributor(s): Timothy M. Swager, Eric L. Dane
K. Saito, M. Ohtani, S. Fukuzumi*
Osaka University, Japan
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
20 February 2007 (online)

Significance

Cup-stacked carbon nanotubes (CSCNTs) are short segments of carbon nanotubes that taper from one end to the other, giving them the appearance of a cup. They naturally stack together in columns. The authors use photoinduced electron transfer from 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide dimer to reduce the individual cup-shaped carbon nanotubes. Due to the electrostatic repulsion of like charges, the cups unstack. They report that, upon exposure to oxygen, the cups begin to restack.