Diameter-Selective Host-Guest Interactions between Functionalized Fullerenes and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nano peapods, with their electronic properties and spintronics, have attracted great attention regarding their potential applications when combined with fullerenes or their derivatives encapsulated inside. Herein, we have designed and synthesized a series of fullerene derivatives with different functional groups, which are then encapsulated into single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Accurate morphological characterization with high-resolution TEM reveals a clear correlation between the filling ratio of the peapods and the steric bulk of the functionalized groups. Further spectroscopic characterizations reveal diameter-selective interactions between the fullerene derivatives and SWCNTs, which, in turn, influence the electronic structures of the nanotubes. Our results have shed new light on the controlled synthesis and property-tuning of nano peapods.