title: Optical Excitation of Carbon Nanotubes Drives Localized Diazonium Reactions.
abstract: Covalent chemistries have been widely used to modify carbon nanomaterials; however, they typically lack the precision and efficiency required to directly engineer their optical and electronic properties. Here, we show, for the first time, that visible light which is tuned into resonance with carbon nanotubes can be used to drive their functionalization by aryldiazonium salts. The optical excitation accelerates the reaction rate 154-fold (±13) and makes it possible to significantly improve the efficiency of covalent bonding to the sp(2) carbon lattice. Control experiments suggest that the reaction is dominated by a localized photothermal effect. This light-driven reaction paves the way for precise nanochemistry that can directly tailor carbon nanomaterials at the optical and electronic levels.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors: Lyndsey R
authors: LR
authors: Powell
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors: Yanmei
authors: Y
authors: Piao
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland , College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors: YuHuang
authors: Y
authors: Wang