Synthesis of finite carbon nanotube molecules from pigments

05/22/2013

Synthesis of finite carbon nanotube molecules from pigments

A research group led by Professor Hiroyuki Isobe of WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research and Department of Chemistry at Tohoku University has developed a method to synthesize finite carbon nanotube molecules from pigments. They have developed two methods, one for selective synthesis of helical nanotube molecules and the other for combinatorial synthesis of helical and armchair nanotube molecules, and successfully converted mass-produced organic pigments into finite carbon nanotube molecules. Currently, research and development of the bottom-up chemical synthesis of finite carbon nanotube molecules are drawing much attention of chemists, and the longest three-fold length (0.75 nm) of shortest unit length (0.25 nm) has been achieved in the present study. This three-fold length broke the previous record of the two-fold length that was achieved by their own last year. The research group also discovered that helical finite carbon nanotube molecules are assembled in a sheet of homohelical congeners, which may lead to a new method to stack carbon nanotubes. Using an abundantly available pigment, they expect to contribute to the realization of mass-producible nanotechnology.

This study conducted by Professor Hiroyuki Isobe, Graduate Students, Taisuke Matsuno and Sho Kamata, and Associate Professor Shunpei Hitosugi was supported partly by the grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as Grants-Aid for Scientific Research and has been published in Chemical Science, the journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Contact

Professor Hiroyuki Isobe
Department of Chemistry
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University

TEL : +81-22-795-6585
FAX : +81-22-795-6589
E-MAIL : isobe@m.tohoku.ac.jp
Lab HP : http://www.orgchem2.chem.tohoku.ac.jp/ (will open in a new tab)