Self-assembled double ladder structure formed inside carbon nanotubes by encapsulation of H8Si8O12.
Unique low-dimensional SiO(2)-based nanomaterials can be encapsulated and synthesized inside the nanometer-scale one-dimensional internal spaces of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In this study, various single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) and double-walled CNTs (DWNTs) having different diameters are used as containers for cubic octameric H(8)Si(8)O(12) molecules. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy observations revealed that, depending on the diameter of the CNTs, two types of structures are formed inside the SWNTs and DWNTs: In the case of those CNTs having inner diameters ranging from 1.2 to 1.4 nm, a new ordered self-assembled structure composed of H(8)Si(4n)O(8n-4) molecules was formed through the transformation of H(8)Si(8)O(12); however, in the case of CNTs having inner diameters larger than 1.7 nm, a disordered structure was formed. This behavior may indicate that strong interactions occur between the CNTs and the encapsulated H(8)Si(4n)O(8n-4) molecules.
Liu
Zheng
Z
Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan. liu-z@aist.go.jp
Joung
Soon-Kil
SK
Okazaki
Toshiya
T
Suenaga
Kazu
K
Hagiwara
Yoshiaki
Y
Ohsuna
Tetsu
T
Kuroda
Kazuyuki
K
Iijima
Sumio
S
D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D012821:Silanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D012821:Silanes