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

当前的微电子技术正在迅速接近物理极限，需要替代方法。最有前途的途径之一是分子电子学。分子电子学的发展取决于合适的分子结构被识别、操纵和利用。分子电子学的前景吸引了科学界和高科技工业部门的兴趣。虽然分子电子学的概念已经有三十多年的历史了，但实际实现仍处于起步阶段。然而，现代合成和表征技术似乎将极大地改变景观。已被表征的最成功的分子系统之一是碳纳米管，因为它们具有令人印象深刻的电子性质。然而，到目前为止，单壁碳纳米管（SWNTs）的合成总是在样品中金属和半导体管的混合物中进行。对于它们在应用中的广泛使用，特别是分子电子学，需要对其生长或合成后操作进行显著水平的控制。最新的进展表明，合成后的操作提供了非常真实的机会，控制访问金属或半导体单壁碳纳米管。这开辟了一个新的机会窗口，研究SWNT的基本性质比以前更详细。在这个项目中，它建议开发高纯度金属或半导体单壁碳纳米管的高度复杂的分离技术。这些分离的单壁碳纳米管样品将使先进的光谱研究单壁碳纳米管，最显着的基态研究，也是他们的Tomonaga-Luttinger液体行为（金属单壁碳纳米管）在低温下。这些研究将为这些令人兴奋的分子纳米结构的基本性质提供新的宝贵和相关的信息。

Current microelectronics is rapidly approaching physical limits and alternative approaches are needed. One of the most promising routes is molecular electronics. The development of molecular electronics is contingent on suitable molecular structures being identified, manipulated and exploited. The promise of molecular electronics has attracted the interest of the scientific community as well as the hi-tech industrial sector. Whilst the concept of molecular electronics is over three decades old, the practical realization is still in its infancy. However, modern synthesis and characterisation techniques look set to dramatically change the landscape. Among the most successful molecular systems, which have been characterized, are carbon nanotubes due to their impressive electronic properties. However, the synthesis of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), thus far, always occurs with a mixture of metallic and semiconducting tubes in the sample. For their extensive use in applications, in particular molecular electronics, one requires a significant level of control on their growth or post-synthesis manipulation. Recent advances hint that post synthesis manipulation offers very real chances for the controlled access to metallic or semiconducting SWNT. This opens up a new window of opportunity to study the fundamental nature of SWNT in greater detail than previously possible. In this project it is proposed to develop highly sophisticated separation techniques for high purity metallic or semiconducting SWNT. These separated SWNT samples will enable advanced spectroscopic studies on SWNT, most notably ground state studies and also their Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid behaviour (metallic SWNT) at low temperatures. These studies will provide new invaluable and pertinent information on the fundamental properties of these exciting molecular nanostructures.