On the bonding environment of phosphorus in purified doped single-walled carbon nanotubes

TL;DR

This study investigates the bonding environment of phosphorus in purified doped single-walled carbon nanotubes using advanced spectroscopy techniques, providing new insights into P incorporation in the carbon lattice.

Contribution

It introduces a method combining synthesis, purification, and spectroscopy to analyze phosphorus bonding in carbon nanotubes, revealing the first insights into P substitution configurations.

Findings

First detailed analysis of P bonding in doped nanotubes

Use of Raman and XPS to identify P environments

Successful purification of doped nanotubes

Abstract

In this work, phosphorous-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes have been synthesized by the thermal decomposition of trimethylphosphine using a high-vacuum chemical vapor deposition method. Furthermore, a modified density-gradient-ultracentrifugation process has been applied to carefully purify our doped material. The combined use of Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy allowed us to provide the first insight into the bonding environment of P incorporated into the carbon lattice, avoiding competing signals arising from synthesis byproducts. This study represents the first step toward the identification of the bonding configuration of P atoms when direct substitution takes place.