Fitting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Optical Spectra

In this work, a comprehensive methodology for the fitting of single-walled carbon nanotube absorption spectra is presented. Different approaches to background subtraction, choice of line profile, and calculation of full width at half-maximum are discussed both in the context of previous literature and the contemporary understanding of carbon nanotube photophysics. The fitting is improved by the inclusion of exciton–phonon sidebands, and new techniques to improve the individualization of overlapped nanotube spectra by exploiting correlations between the first- and second-order optical transitions and the exciton–phonon sidebands are presented. Consideration of metallic nanotubes allows an analysis of the metallic/semiconducting content, and a process of constraining the fit of highly congested spectra of carbon nanotube solid films according to the spectral weights of each (<i>n</i>, <i>m</i>) species in solution is also presented, allowing for more reliable resolution of overlapping peaks into single (<i>n</i>, <i>m</i>) species contributions

Sorting of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes According to Their Outer Wall Electronic Type <i>via</i> a Gel Permeation Method

In this work, we demonstrate the application of the gel permeation technique to the sorting of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) according to their outer wall electronic type. Our method uses Sephacryl S-200 gel and yields sorted fractions of DWCNTs with impurities removed and highly enriched in nanotubes with either metallic (M) or semiconducting (S) outer walls. The prepared fractions are fully characterized using optical absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, and the entire procedure is monitored in real time using process Raman analysis. The sorted DWCNTs are then integrated into single nanotube field effect transistors, allowing detailed electronic measurement of the transconductance properties of the four unique inner@outer wall combinations of S@S, S@M, M@S, and M@M