Can armchair nanotubes host organic color centers?

Friday Quantum Seminar

Speaker: 
Ben Eller (JQI)
Time: 
Friday, November 3, 2023 - 12:00pm
Location: 
ATL 2324

We use time-dependent density functional theory to investigate the possibility of hosting organic color centers in (6, 6) armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes, which are known to be metallic. Our calculations show that in short segments of (6, 6) nanotubes ∼5 nm in length there is a dipole-allowed singlet transition related to the quantum confinement of charge carriers in the smaller segments. The introduction of sp3 defects to the surface of (6, 6) nanotubes results in new dipole-allowed excited states. Some of these states are redshifted from the native confinement state of the defect-free (6, 6) segments; this is similar behavior to what is observed with sp3 defects to exciton transitions in semiconducting carbon nanotubes. This result suggests the possibility of electrically wiring organic color centers directly through armchair carbon nanotube hosts.

Pizza and drinks will be served after the seminar in ATL 2117.