Electronic and structural properties of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Recent developments using synthetic methods typical of fullerene production have been used to generate graphitic nanotubes with diameters on the order of fullerene diameters: “carbon nanotubes.” The individual hollow concentric graphitic nanotubes that comprise these fibers can be visualized as constructed from rolled-up single sheets of graphite. We discuss the use of helical symmetry for the electronic structure of these nanotubes, and the resulting trends we observe in both band gap and strain energy versus nanotube radius, using both empirical and first-principles techniques. With potential electronic and structural applications, these materials appear to be appropriate synthetic targets for the current decade.