Highlights
Susi, T., et al., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of graphitic carbon nanomaterials doped with heteroatoms, Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 6, 177 (2015). doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.17
Ruiz-Soria, G., Susi, T., et al., On the bonding environment of phosphorus in purified doped single-walled carbon nanotubes, Carbon 81, 91-95 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.carbon.2014.09.028
Tison, Y., et al., Identification of Nitrogen Dopants in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, ACS Nano 7, 7219-7226 (2013). doi:10.1021/nn4026146
Susi, T., et al., Nitrogen-Doped Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Thin Films Exhibiting Anomalous Sheet Resistances, Chem. Mater. 23, 2201-2208 (2011). doi:10.1021/cm200111b
Heteroatom doping
Although carbon nanomaterials such as graphene and carbon nanotubes have superb intrinsic properties, these need to be controllably modified for many applications. One possible route is to introduce atoms of a different element (such as N, B, P, Si) into the lattice as heteroatom dopants.
An atomistic model of a single-walled carbon nanotube doped with nitrogen heteroatoms (shown in green). Depending on their covalent radius and valence electronic structure, the dopants can bond in different configurations. These can have quite different effects on the properties of the host material, making the identification of bonding one of the crucial research questions.
