Highly selective sorting of semiconducting single wall carbon nanotubes exhibiting light emission at telecom wavelengths

Abstract

Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are known for their exceptional electronic properties. However, most of the synthesis methods lead to the production of a mixture of carbon nanotubes having different chiralities associated with metallic (m-SWNTs) and semiconducting (s-SWNTs) characteristics. For application purposes, effective methods for separating these species are highly desired. Here, we report a protocol for achieving a highly selective separation of s-SWNTs that exhibit a fundamental optical transition centered at 1,550 nm. We employ a polymer assisted sorting approach, and the influence of preparation methods on the optical and transport performances of the separated nanotubes is analyzed. As even traces of m-SWNTs can critically affect performances, we aim to produce samples that do not contain any detectable fraction of residual m-SWNTs.