Can we look into carbon nanotubes by infrared light?

ORAL

Abstract

Individual molecules filled into carbon nanotubes exhibit Raman activity but very weak, if any, infrared absorption. We will present infrared (transmission and ATR), Raman and transmission electron microscopy data of various filled nanotubes (sorted by diameter and metallicity; encapsulating organometallic, aromatic and fullerene-based molecules) to illustrate this puzzling behavior. In the infrared spectra of double-walled carbon nanotubes, however, vibrational signatures of the inner and outer tubes are clearly discernible. A strong proof for this assignment is the shift of the inner-tube modes with $^{13}$C isotope content in samples where the inner tube is enriched with $^{13}$C.

Authors

  • Katalin Kamaras

    Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

  • Aron Pekker

    Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

  • Zsolt Szekrenyes

    Research Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

  • Ferenc Simon

    Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budafoki \'ut 8, 1111 Budapest, Hungary

  • Bea Botka

    Walther-Meissner-Institute, Garching

  • Rudi Hackl

    Walther-Meissner-Institute, Garching

  • Akos Botos

    University of Nottingham

  • Andrei Khlobystov

    University of Nottingham