Contorted Octabenzocircumbiphenyl Sorts Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Structural Specificity

Journal Article · 01 January 2017 · Chemistry of Materials

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b04018 · OSTI ID:1534447

Gao, Jia ^[1]; Sengar, Nikita ^[2]; Wu, Ying ^[3]; Jockusch, Steffen ^[3]; Nuckolls, Colin  ^[3]; Clancy, Paulette  ^[2]; Loo, Yueh-Lin  ^[1]

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1. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
2. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
3. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

Here, we use a nonplanar aromatic molecule, contorted octabenzocircumbiphenyl (c-OBCB), to sort semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by their chiral angles. From absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy studies, we find that c-OBCB preferentially binds and sorts for a number of semiconducting carbon nanotubes with chiral angles greater than 12°. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the contorted aromatic core of c-OBCB binds strongly to only certain SWNTs, especially those with matching curvature, and that this discriminatory binding interaction is reinforced by preferences of the side chains on the c-OBCB to stick to SWNT surface rather than interact with the solvent. This opens the door to side chain/solvent engineering to bias the selection of certain (m,n) SWNT variants. We also investigate the temperature dependence of hole mobility in field-effect transistors comprising c-OBCB-sorted semiconducting carbon-nanotube networks and find hole transport in these networks to be thermally activated.

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC); Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-01ER15264; 680-50-1202; CHE-1124754; CMMI-1537011
• OSTI ID: 1534447
• Journal Information: Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 2; ISSN 0897-4756
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Chemistry
Materials science
Thickness
Charge transport
Carbon nanotubes
Mathematical methods
Selectivity