Electronic Structure of Carbon Fibers based on C60

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe electronic structures of some possible carbon fibers nucleated from the hemisphere of a bucky ball are presented. A one-dimensional electronic energy band structure model of such carbon fibers, having not only a principal rotational axis but also fibers with screw axes, can be derived by folding the two-dimensional energy bands of graphite. By considering the variation of the fiber diameter and helicity within a simple tight binding model calculation, we show that 1/3 of the fibers are metallic and 2/3 are semiconducting. The effect of adding multiple tubule layers is considered.