Endohedral filling of single-wall-carbon NanoTubes for New nanomaterials – DINOSAURES

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are renowned for their outstanding charge carrier mobility, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties. Combining these characteristics with their nanometer-scale diameter renders them exceptionally promising for developing (opto)-electronic devices, where the challenge lies in achieving miniaturization without compromising performance.

The ultimate goal of the project DINOSAURES is to fill the empty cores of SWCNTs to expand their range of applications, based on the general characteristics of SWCNTs. These include their high electronic conductivity, the capacity to separate charges, and the potential for confining molecules in a one-dimensional space. The encapsulation will enable combining the properties from the nanotubes and the enclosed molecules while protecting these molecules (oxidation, photobleaching…)

The principal objectives of the project Dinosaur are to create an innovative methodology for precisely controlled filling the SWCNTs using pulsed vapor phase infiltration (VPI), to develop tailored synthesis strategies for molecules that can fit exactly the specific requirements and that can be used in VPI and to go up to the proof-of-concept stage by synthesizing and characterizing filled SWCNTs, showcasing controlled and stable amphoteric doping, or fine-tuning their photosensitization/reactivity capabilities under visible light.