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Highly selective sorting of semiconducting single wall carbon nanotubes exhibiting light emission at telecom wavelengths

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Abstract

Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are known for their exceptional electronic properties. However, most of the synthesis methods lead to the production of a mixture of carbon nanotubes having different chiralities associated with metallic (m-SWNTs) and semiconducting (s-SWNTs) characteristics. For application purposes, effective methods for separating these species are highly desired. Here, we report a protocol for achieving a highly selective separation of s-SWNTs that exhibit a fundamental optical transition centered at 1,550 nm. We employ a polymer assisted sorting approach, and the influence of preparation methods on the optical and transport performances of the separated nanotubes is analyzed. As even traces of m-SWNTs can critically affect performances, we aim to produce samples that do not contain any detectable fraction of residual m-SWNTs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and LENS, University of Florence, Via Sansone 1, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

    Francesco Sarti, Francesco Biccari, Federica Fioravanti, Ughetta Torrini, Anna Vinattieri & Massimo Gurioli

  2. LICSEN, NIMBE, CEA, CNRS, University Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif sur Yvette CEDEX, France

    Vincent Derycke & Arianna Filoramo

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  1. Francesco Sarti
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  2. Francesco Biccari
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  4. Ughetta Torrini
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  7. Massimo Gurioli
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Correspondence to Arianna Filoramo.

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Sarti, F., Biccari, F., Fioravanti, F. et al. Highly selective sorting of semiconducting single wall carbon nanotubes exhibiting light emission at telecom wavelengths. Nano Res. 9, 2478–2486 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1134-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1134-6

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