Doping of C$_{60}$-induced electronic states in BN nanopeapods

TL;DR

This paper uses ab initio simulations to show that doping BN nanopeapods with potassium transforms them into highly conductive, potentially superconducting one-dimensional crystals with conduction states derived from encapsulated C60 molecules.

Contribution

It demonstrates that potassium doping effectively turns BN nanopeapods into metallic one-dimensional crystals with enhanced density of states at the Fermi level, a novel finding.

Findings

Doping with potassium induces metallic behavior in BN nanopeapods.

The density of states at the Fermi level exceeds that of current fullerene crystals.

Potential for superconductivity in doped BN nanopeapods is suggested.

Abstract

We report the results of \textit{ab initio} simulations of the electronic properties of a chain of C$_{60}$ molecules encapsulated in a boron nitride nanotube - so called BN-nanopeapod. It is demonstrated that this structure can be effectively doped by depositing potassium atoms on the external wall of the BN-nanotube. The resulting material becomes a true metallic one-dimensional crystal, where the conduction states are formed solely by the fullerene chain. At the doping rate of one K atom per C$_{60}$ molecule, the system shows the density of states at the Fermi level considerably higher than in any of the fullerene crystals presently made. This makes the doped BN-peapod structure an interesting candidate to study a possible superconducting state.