Electronic Property Control of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Functionalization

Single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibit remarkable electronic properties. It is well known that there are two types of single-walled carbon nanotubes: metallic and semiconducting. However, separating semiconducting carbon nanotubes from metallic ones is a ``holy grail'' problem in nanoelectronics fields. Using ab initio density functional theory, we will present the effects of various functional groups, such as 4-bromobenzene diazonium tetrafluoroborate, on SWNTs. Modifications in electronic and transport properties due to such functionalization will be discussed. Possible mechanism converting metallic tubes to semiconducting ones will be addressed.