Electron-induced excitation of vibrations of Ce atoms inside a C-80 cage

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of Ce-2@C-80 dimetallofullerenes reveals a low-energy inelastic excitation that is interpreted using ab initio calculations and associated with the movements of encapsulated Ce atoms inside the C-80 cage. The electron-vibration interaction in Ce-2@C-80 is unusually high, inducing a pronounced zero-bias anomaly in differential conductance of Ce-2@C-80. Our observations show that the atoms encapsulated in fullerene cages can actively participate in determining the properties of molecular junctions

Quantum conductance in single- and double-wall carbon nanotube networks

The electrical conductance of single- and double-wall carbon nanotube systems was measured by a mechanically controllable break-junction technique using freestanding nanotubes not subject to any chemical modification. For metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes, two channels with transmission coefficient of 0.88 contribute to ballistic electronic transport at room temperature. In double-wall carbon nanotubes, one metallic channel contributes to ballistic electronic transport and additional field- and temperature-dependent two channel contributions were observed