Chapter 7 - Mechanics of More Complicated Structures: Nanopeapods and Spheroidal Fullerenes

Abstract

Nanopeapods, hollow carbon nanotubes filled with C60 fullerenes, were first observed in 1998. These structures have subsequently led to reports of different types of fullerene nanopeapods. These nanopeapods possess the potential to be superconducting nanowires, but could also be utilised as nanocarriers for drug delivery. Unlike C60 fullerenes, nanopeapods constructed from ellipsoidal fullerenes such as C70 and C80 can exhibit many different orientations inside the nanotubes. This feature enables ellipsoidal based nanopeapods the capacity to control the electronic properties of the system by controlling the orientation of the fullerene. A fullerene can enter a nanotube either directly through the tubes’ open end, around the edge of the tubes’ open end or through a defect in the tube wall. In this chapter, we examine these possible encapsulation mechanisms and their respective interaction energies. Furthermore, we examine the possible packing configurations of fullerene chains inside the nanotube.