Intimate relationship between structural deformation and properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes continue to surprise scientists with their novel properties. Recently we have discovered many intimate relationships between structural deformation and the properties of single-walled nanotubes (SWNT), that could be important in technological applications. From first-principles we show that by using pressure, carbon nanotubes can be covalently joined to form one and two-dimensional networks of interlinked nanotubes. We also find that the band gap of an insulating nanotube can be engineered by elliptical distortion, which is found to be in the elastic range. This could allow the fine-tuning of the properties of SWNTs via reversible deformation and ultimately lead to variable quantum devices. Finally, we have very recently shown that the chemical reactivity of nanotubes can be tuned by elliptical deformation, which may provide a way to attach various atoms such as H and metals to a specific location on a nanotube.