Structural Trends Interpretation of the Metal-to-Semiconductor Transition in Deformed Carbon Nanotubes

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how structural changes induce metal-to-semiconductor transitions in carbon nanotubes, revealing that zigzag nanotubes are more susceptible and that these transitions distinguish sublattices.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of structural trends causing metal-to-semiconductor transitions in carbon nanotubes using a simple tight-binding model.

Findings

Zigzag nanotubes undergo transitions more readily than armchair nanotubes.

Both mechanisms make the sublattices physically distinguishable.

Transitions are driven by structural trends affecting electronic properties.

Abstract

Two mechanisms that drive metal-to-semiconductor transitions in single-walled carbon nanotubes are theoretically analyzed through a simple tight-binding model. By considering simple structural trends, the results demonstrate that metal-to-semiconductor transitions can be induced more readily in metallic zigzag nanotubes than in armchair nanotubes. Furthermore, it is shown that both mechanisms have the effect of making the two originally equivalent sublattices physically distinguishable.