title: Self-assembled hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene graphitic nanotube.
abstract: An amphiphilic hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene self-assembles to form a pi-electronic, discrete nanotubular object. The object is characterized by an aspect ratio greater than 1000 and has a uniform, 14-nanometer-wide, open-ended hollow space, which is an order of magnitude larger than those of carbon nanotubes. The wall is 3 nanometers thick and consists of helical arrays of the pi-stacked graphene molecule, whose exterior and interior surfaces are covered by hydrophilic triethylene glycol chains. The graphitic nanotube is redox active, and a single piece of the nanotube across 180-nanometer-gap electrodes shows, upon oxidation, an electrical resistance of 2.5 megohms at 285 kelvin [corrected]. This family of molecularly engineered graphite with a one-dimensional tubular shape and a chemically accessible surface constitutes an important step toward molecular electronics.
authors.affiliation: Aida Nanospace Project, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, 2-41 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan.
authors.forename: Jonathan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Wusong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kosaka
authors.forename: Takanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichihara
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimomura
authors.forename: Kohzo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Tomihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashizume
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Takuzo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aida