New Families of Carbon Nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper introduces graphyne nanotubes, a new family of carbon nanotubes with diverse electronic properties, expanding the potential applications of nanotube-based materials.

Contribution

It proposes a novel class of nanotubes called graphynes, created by elongating covalent bonds in graphite nanotubes with yne groups, and analyzes their electronic properties.

Findings

Graphyne nanotubes can be metallic or semiconducting.

Electronic properties vary significantly among different graphyne nanotubes.

Theoretical methods predict a rich diversity of behaviors.

Abstract

Fundamentally new families of carbon single walled nanotubes are proposed. These nanotubes, called graphynes, result from the elongation of covalent interconnections of graphite-based nanotubes by the introduction of yne groups. Similarly to ordinary nanotubes, arm-chair, zig-zag, and chiral graphyne nanotubes are possible. Electronic properties, predicted using tight-binding and ab initio density functional methods, show a rich variety of metallic and semiconducting behaviors.