Exciton binding energies in carbon nanotubes from two-photon photoluminescence

One- and two-photon luminescence excitation spectroscopy showed a series of distinct excitonic states in single-walled carbon nanotubes. The energy splitting between one- and two-photon-active exciton states of different wavefunction symmetry is the fingerprint of excitonic interactions in carbon nanotubes. We determine exciton binding energies of 0.3-0.4 eV for different nanotubes with diameters between 0.7 and 0.9 nm. Our results, which are supported by ab-initio calculations of the linear and non-linear optical spectra, prove that the elementary optical excitations of carbon nanotubes are strongly Coulomb-correlated, quasi-one dimensionally confined electron-hole pairs, stable even at room temperature. This alters our microscopic understanding of both the electronic structure and the Coulomb interactions in carbon nanotubes, and has direct impact on the optical and transport properties of novel nanotube devices.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

ZnO based thermopower wave sources

Exothermic chemical reactions of nitrocellulose are coupled onto thermoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) layers to generate self-propagating thermopower waves resulting in highly oscillatory voltage output of the order of 500 mV. The peak specific power obtained from ZnO based sources is approximately 0.5 kW kg-1

Extraordinary sensitivity of the electronic structure and properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes to molecular charge-transfer

Interaction of single-walled carbon nanotubes with electron donor and acceptor molecules causes significant changes in the electronic and Raman spectra, the relative proportion of the metallic species increasing on electron donation through molecular charge transfer, as also verified by electrical resistivity measurements.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figurre

Chemical reactivity imprint lithography on graphene: Controlling the substrate influence on electron transfer reactions

The chemical functionalization of graphene enables control over electronic properties and sensor recognition sites. However, its study is confounded by an unusually strong influence of the underlying substrate. In this paper, we show a stark difference in the rate of electron transfer chemistry with aryl diazonium salts on monolayer graphene supported on a broad range of substrates. Reactions proceed rapidly when graphene is on SiO_2 and Al_2O_3 (sapphire), but negligibly on alkyl-terminated and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) surfaces. The effect is contrary to expectations based on doping levels and can instead be described using a reactivity model accounting for substrate-induced electron-hole puddles in graphene. Raman spectroscopic mapping is used to characterize the effect of the substrates on graphene. Reactivity imprint lithography (RIL) is demonstrated as a technique for spatially patterning chemical groups on graphene by patterning the underlying substrate, and is applied to the covalent tethering of proteins on graphene.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Mapping of functionalized regions on carbon nanotubes by scanning tunneling microscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) gives us the opportunity to map the surface of functionalized carbon nanotubes in an energy resolved manner and with atomic precision. But this potential is largely untapped, mainly due to sample stability issues which inhibit reliable measurements. Here we present a simple and straightforward solution that makes away with this difficulty, by incorporating the functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) into a few layer graphene - nanotube composite. This enabled us to measure energy resolved tunneling conductance maps on the nanotubes, which shed light on the level of doping, charge transfer between tube and functional groups and the dependence of defect creation or functionalization on crystallographic orientation.Comment: Keywords: functionalization, carbon nanotubes, few layer graphene, STM, CITS, ST

High-performance field effect transistors using electronic inks of 2D molybdenum oxide nanoflakes

Planar 2D materials are possibly the ideal channel candidates for future field effect transistors (FETs), due to their unique electronic properties. However, the performance of FETs based on 2D materials is yet to exceed those of conventional silicon based devices. Here, a 2D channel thin film made from liquid phase exfoliated molybdenum oxide nanoflake inks with highly controllable substoichiometric levels is presented. The ability to induce oxygen vacancies by solar light irradiation in an aqueous environment allows the tuning of electronic properties in 2D substoichiometric molybdenum oxides (MoO3-x). The highest mobility is found to be approximate to 600 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) with an estimated free electron concentration of approximate to 1.6 x 10(21) cm(-3) and an optimal I-On/I-Off ratio of >10(5) for the FETs made of 2D flakes irradiated for 30 min (x = 0.042). These values are significant and represent a real opportunity to realize the next generation of tunable electronic devices using electronic inks

Electronic Devices Based on Purified Carbon Nanotubes Grown By High Pressure Decomposition of Carbon Monoxide

The excellent properties of transistors, wires, and sensors made from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) make them promising candidates for use in advanced nanoelectronic systems. Gas-phase growth procedures such as the high pressure decomposition of carbon monoxide (HiPCO) method yield large quantities of small diameter semiconducting SWNTs, which are ideal for use in nanoelectronic circuits. As-grown HiPCO material, however, commonly contains a large fraction of carbonaceous impurities that degrade properties of SWNT devices. Here we demonstrate a purification, deposition, and fabrication process that yields devices consisting of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes with electronic characteristics vastly superior to those of circuits made from raw HiPCO. Source-drain current measurements on the circuits as a function of temperature and backgate voltage are used to quantify the energy gap of semiconducting nanotubes in a field effect transistor geometry. This work demonstrates significant progress towards the goal of producing complex integrated circuits from bulk-grown SWNT material.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Nature Material

RESCUE OF HIPPO CO-ACTIVATOR YAP1 TRIGGERS DNA DAMAGE-INDUCED APOPTOSIS IN HEMATOLOGICAL CANCERS

Oncogene–induced DNA damage elicits genomic instability in epithelial cancer cells, but apoptosis is blocked through inactivation of the tumor suppressor p53. In hematological cancers, the relevance of ongoing DNA damage and mechanisms by which apoptosis is suppressed are largely unknown. We found pervasive DNA damage in hematologic malignancies including multiple myeloma, lymphoma and leukemia, which leads to activation of a p53–independent, pro-apoptotic network centered on nuclear relocalization of ABL1 kinase. Although nuclear ABL1 triggers cell death through its interaction with the Hippo pathway co–activator YAP1 in normal cells, we show that low YAP1 levels prevent nuclear ABL1–induced apoptosis in these hematologic malignancies. YAP1 is under the control of a serine–threonine kinase, STK4. Importantly, genetic inactivation of STK4 restores YAP1 levels, triggering cell death in vitro and in vivo. Our data therefore identify a novel synthetic–lethal strategy to selectively target cancer cells presenting with endogenous DNA damage and low YAP1 levels

Cellular localization, accumulation and trafficking of double-walled carbon nanotubes in human prostate cancer cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are at present being considered as potential nanovectors with the ability to deliver therapeutic cargoes into living cells. Previous studies established the ability of CNTs to enter cells and their therapeutic utility, but an appreciation of global intracellular trafficking associated with their cellular distribution has yet to be described. Despite the many aspects of the uptake mechanism of CNTs being studied, only a few studies have investigated internalization and fate of CNTs inside cells in detail. In the present study, intracellular localization and trafficking of RNA-wrapped, oxidized double-walled CNTs (oxDWNT–RNA) is presented. Fixed cells, previously exposed to oxDWNT–RNA, were subjected to immunocytochemical analysis using antibodies specific to proteins implicated in endocytosis; moreover cell compartment markers and pharmacological inhibitory conditions were also employed in this study. Our results revealed that an endocytic pathway is involved in the internalization of oxDWNT–RNA. The nanotubes were found in clathrin-coated vesicles, after which they appear to be sorted in early endosomes, followed by vesicular maturation, become located in lysosomes. Furthermore, we observed co-localization of oxDWNT–RNA with the small GTP-binding protein (Rab 11), involved in their recycling back to the plasma membrane via endosomes from the trans-golgi network