title: Microscopic model of the optical absorption of carbon nanotubes functionalized with molecular spiropyran photoswitches.
abstract: The adsorption of molecules to the surface of carbon nanostructures opens a new field of hybrid systems with distinct and controllable properties. We present a microscopic study of the optical absorption in carbon nanotubes functionalized with molecular spiropyran photoswitches. The switching process induces a change in the dipole moment leading to a significant coupling to the charge carriers in the nanotube. As a result, the absorption spectra of functionalized tubes reveal a considerable redshift of transition energies depending on the switching state of the spiropyran molecule. Our results suggest that carbon nanotubes are excellent substrates for the optical readout of spiropyran-based molecular switches. The gained insights can be applied to other noncovalently functionalized one-dimensional nanostructures in an externally induced dipole field.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Malic
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Atalla
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klamroth
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saalfrank
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reich
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Knorr