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Mildred S Dresselhaus

Publications and source records attributed to Mildred S Dresselhaus.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Exciton photophysics of carbon nanotubes.

The goal of this chapter is to review the importance of excitons to single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) optics. We have developed the presentation for both researchers in the SWNT field who want to learn more about the unusual aspects of SWNT exciton photophysics and researchers more knowledgeable about the physics of excitons, but not about SWNT physics. Excitons in SWNTs are special because graphite has two energy bands at the Fermi energy related to time-reversal symmetry and because SWNTs are actually one dimensional. This review discusses both theoretical and experimental points of view, thus aiming to provide a summary of the most important work in the field, as well as to identify open questions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Sodium chloride-catalyzed oxidation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes for environmental benefit.

A sodium chloride (NaCl) catalyst (0.1 w/w %) lowers the oxidation temperature of graphitized multiwalled carbon nanotubes: MWCNT-20 (diameter: 20-70 nm) and MWCNT-80 (diameter: 80-150 nm). The analysis of the reaction kinetics indicates that the oxidation of MWCNT-20 and MWCNT-80 mixed with no NaCl exhibits single reaction processes with activation energies of E(a) = 159 and 152 kJ mol(-1), respectively. The oxidation reaction in the presence of NaCl is shown to consist of two different reaction processes, that is, a first reaction and a second reaction process. The first reaction process is dominant at a low temperature of around 600 degrees C, while the second reaction process becomes more dominant than the first one in a higher temperature region. The activation energies of the first reaction processes (MWCNT-20: E(a1) = 35.7 kJ mol(-1); MWCNT-80: E(a1) = 43.5 kJ mol(-1)) are much smaller than those of the second reaction processes (MWCNT-20: E(a2) = 170 kJ mol(-1); MWCNT-80: E(a2) = 171 kJ mol(-1)). The comparison of the kinetic parameters and the results of the spectroscopic and microscopic analyses imply that the lowering of the oxidation temperature in the presence of NaCl results from the introduction of disorder into the graphitized MWCNTs (during the first reaction process), thus increasing the facility of the oxidation reaction of the disorder-induced nanotubes (in the second reaction process). It is found that the larger nanopits and cracks on the outer graphitic layers are caused by the catalytic effect of NaCl. Therefore, the NaCl-mixed samples showed more rapid and stronger oxidation compared with that of the nonmixed samples at the same residual quantity.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

In situ Raman study on single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes as a function of lithium insertion.

We investigated the electrochemical lithium ion (Li(+)) insertion/desertion behavior on highly pure and bundled single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs and DWNTs) using an in situ Raman technique. In general, two storage sites could host Li(+) in SWNT and DWNT bundles when varying an external potential: a) the outer surface sites, and b) the interstitial spaces within the bundles. The most sensitive changes in the tangential mode (TM) of the Raman spectra upon doping with Li(+) can be divided into two regions. The first region was found from 2.8 to 1.0 V (the coverage of Li(+) on the outer surface of a bundled nanotube) and was characterized by the loss of resonant conditions via partial charge transfer, where the G(+) line of the SWNT and the TM of the outer tube of DWNTs experienced a highly depressed intensity, but remained almost constant in frequency. The appearance of a Breit-Wigner-Fano (BWF) profile provided strong evidence of metallic inner tubes within DWNTs. The second region was observed when the applied potentials ranged from 0.9 to 0 V and was characterized by Li(+) diffusion into the interstitial sites of the bundled nanotube material. This phenomenon invoked a large downshift of the G(-) band in SWNTs, and a small downshift of the TM of the inner tube of DWNTs caused by expansion of the C--C bonds due to the charge transferred to the nanotubes, and the disappearance of the BWF profile through the screening effect of the interstitial Li(+) layers.

Electrochemistry↗
PubMed2006

Resonance Raman spectroscopy in one-dimensional carbon materials.

Brazil has played an important role in the development and use of resonance Raman spectroscopy as a powerful characterization tool for materials science. Here we present a short history of Raman scattering research in Brazil, highlighting the important contributions to the field coming from Brazilian researchers in the past. Next we discuss recent and important contributions where Brazil has become a worldwide leader, that is on the physics of quasi-one dimensional carbon nanotubes. We conclude this article by presenting results from a very recent resonance Raman study of exciting new materials, that are strictly one-dimensional carbon chains formed by the heat treatment of very pure double-wall carbon nanotube samples.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Formation of graphitic structures in cobalt- and nickel-doped carbon aerogels.

We have prepared carbon aerogels (CAs) doped with cobalt or nickel through sol-gel polymerization of formaldehyde with the potassium salt of 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, followed by ion exchange with M(NO3)2 (where M = Co2+ or Ni2+), supercritical drying with liquid CO2, and carbonization at temperatures between 400 and 1050 degrees C under a N2 atmosphere. The nanostructures of these metal-doped carbon aerogels were characterized by elemental analysis, nitrogen adsorption, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Metallic nickel and cobalt nanoparticles are generated during the carbonization process at about 400 and 450 degrees C, respectively, forming nanoparticles that are approximately 4 nm in diameter. The sizes and size dispersion of the metal particles increase with increasing carbonization temperatures for both materials. The carbon frameworks of the Ni- and Co-doped aerogels carbonized below 600 degrees C mainly consist of interconnected carbon particles with a size of 15-30 nm. When the samples are pyrolyzed at 1050 degrees C, the growth of graphitic nanoribbons with different curvatures is observed in the Ni- and Co-doped carbon aerogel materials. The distance of graphite layers in the nanoribbons is approximately 0.38 nm. These metal-doped CAs retain the overall open cell structure of metal-free CAs, exhibiting high surface areas and pore diameters in the micro- and mesoporic region.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Atomic nanotube welders: boron interstitials triggering connections in double-walled carbon nanotubes.

Here we demonstrate that the incorporation of boron (B) atoms between double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) during thermal annealing (1400-1600 degrees C) results in covalent nanotube "Y" junctions, DWNT coalescence, and the formation of flattened multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). These processes occur via the merging of adjacent tubes, which is triggered by B interstitial atoms. We observe that B atom interstitials between DWNTs are responsible for the rapid establishment of covalent connections between neighboring tubes (polymerization), thereby resulting in the fast annealing of the carbon cylinders with B atoms embedded in the newly created carbon nanotube network. Once B is in the lattice, tube faceting (polygonization) starts to occur, and the electronic properties are expected to change dramatically. Therefore, B atoms indeed act as atomic nanotube fusers (or welders), and this process could now be used in assembling novel electronic nanotube devices, nanotube networks, carbon nanofoams and heterojunctions exhibiting p-type electronic properties.

Boron↗
PubMed2005

Thermal conductivity modeling of core-shell and tubular nanowires.

The heteroepitaxial growth of crystalline core-shell nanostructures of a variety of materials has become possible in recent years, allowing the realization of various novel nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices. The increased surface or interface area will decrease the thermal conductivity of such nanostructures and impose challenges for the thermal management of such devices. In the meantime, the decreased thermal conductivity might benefit the thermoelectric conversion efficiency. In this paper, we present modeling results on the lattice thermal conductivity of core-shell and tubular nanowires along the wire axis direction using the phonon Boltzmann equation. We report the dependence of the thermal conductivity on the surface conditions and the core-shell geometry for silicon core-germanium shell and tubular silicon nanowires at room temperature. The results show that the effective thermal conductivity changes not only with the composition of the constituents but also with the radius of the nanowires and nanopores due to the nature of the ballistic phonon transport. The results in this work have implications for the design and operation of a variety of nanoelectronic devices, optoelectronic devices, and thermoelectric materials and devices.

Electronics↗
PubMed2004

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering on single-wall carbon nanotubes.

Exploiting the effect of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), the Raman signal of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be enhanced by up to 14 orders of magnitude when the tubes are in contact with silver or gold nanostructures and Raman scattering takes place predominantly in the enhanced local optical fields of the nanostructures. Such a level of enhancement offers exciting opportunities for ultrasensitive Raman studies on SWNTs and allows resonant and non-resonant Raman experiments to be done on single SWNTs at relatively high signal levels. Since the optical fields are highly localized within so-called "hot spots" on fractal silver colloidal clusters, lateral confinement of the Raman scattering can be as small as 5 nm, allowing spectroscopic selection of a single nanotube from a larger population. Moreover, since SWNTs are very stable "artificial molecules" with a high aspect ratio and a strong electron-phonon coupling, they are unique "test molecules" for investigating the SERS effect itself and for probing the "electromagnetic field contribution" and "charge transfer contribution" to the effect. SERS is also a powerful tool for monitoring the "chemical" interaction between the nanotube and the metal nanostructure.

Carbon↗
PubMed2003

Structure-based carbon nanotube sorting by sequence-dependent DNA assembly.

Wrapping of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) was found to be sequence-dependent. A systematic search of the ssDNA library selected a sequence d(GT)n, n = 10 to 45 that self-assembles into a helical structure around individual nanotubes in such a way that the electrostatics of the DNA-CNT hybrid depends on tube diameter and electronic properties, enabling nanotube separation by anion exchange chromatography. Optical absorption and Raman spectroscopy show that early fractions are enriched in the smaller diameter and metallic tubes, whereas late fractions are enriched in the larger diameter and semiconducting tubes.

Anions↗
PubMed2002

Bismuth nanowires for potential applications in nanoscale electronics technology.

Nanowires of bismuth with diameters ranging from 10 to 200 nm and lengths of 50 microm have been synthesized by a pressure injection method. Nanostructural and chemical compositional studies using environmental and high resolution transmission electron microscopy with electron stimulated energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy have revealed essentially single crystal nanowires. The high resolution studies have shown that the nanowires contain amorphous Bi-oxide layers of a few nanometers on the surface. In situ environmental high resolution transmission electron microscopy (environmental-HRTEM) studies at the atomic level, in controlled hydrogen and other reducing gas environments at high temperatures demonstrate that gas reduction can be successfully applied to remove th oxide nanolayers and to maintain the dimensional and structural uniformity of the nanowires, which is key to attaining low electrical contact resistance.

Bismuth↗