Carbon Nano-onions: Potassium Intercalation and Reductive Covalent Functionalization
Herein we report the synthesis of covalently functionalized carbon nano-onions (CNOs) via a reductive approach using unprecedented alkali-metal CNO intercalation compounds. For the first time, an in situ Raman study of the controlled intercalation process with potassium has been carried out revealing a Fano resonance in highly doped CNOs. The intercalation was further confirmed by electron energy loss spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, the experimental results have been rationalized with DFT calculations. Covalently functionalized CNO derivatives were synthesized by using phenyl iodide and n-hexyl iodide as electrophiles in model nucleophilic substitution reactions. The functiona…
The diffusion of carbon atoms inside carbon nanotubes
We combine electron irradiation experiments in a transmission electron microscope with kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to determine the mobility of interstitial carbon atoms in single-walled carbon nanotubes. We measure the irradiation dose necessary to cut nanotubes repeatedly with a focused electron beam as a function of the separation between the cuts and at different temperatures. As the cutting speed is related to the migration of displaced carbon atoms trapped inside the tube and to their recombination with vacancies, we obtain information about the mobility of the trapped atoms and estimate their migration barrier to be about 0.25 eV. This is an experimental confirmation of the remar…