Abstract
CARBON nanotubes1 are expected to have a wide variety of interesting properties. Capillarity in open tubes has already been demonstrated2â5, while predictions regarding their electronic structure6â8 and mechanical strength9 remain to be tested. To examine the properties of these structures, one needs tubes with well defined morphologies, length, thickness and a number of concentric shells; but the normal carbon-arc synthesis10,11 yields a range of tube types. In particular, most calculations have been concerned with single-shell tubes, whereas the carbon-arc synthesis produces almost entirely multi-shell tubes. Here we report the synthesis of abundant single-shell tubes with diameters of about one nanometre. Whereas the multi-shell nanotubes are formed on the carbon cathode, these single-shell tubes grow in the gas phase. Electron diffraction from a single tube allows us to confirm the helical arrangement of carbon hexagons deduced previously for multi-shell tubes1.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Iijima, S. Nature 354, 56â58 (1991).
Ajayan, P. M. & Iijima, S. Nature 361, 333â334 (1993).
Ajayan, P. M. et al. Nature 362, 522â523 (1993).
Tsang, S.C., Harris, P.J. F. & Green, M. L. Nature 362, 520â522 (1993).
Pederson, M. R. & Broughton, J. O. Phys. Rev. Lett., 69, 2687â2692 (1992).
Hamada, N., Sawada, S. & Oshiyama, S. Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 1579â1581 (1992).
Mintmire, J. W., Dunlap, B. I. & White, C. T. Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 631â634 (1992).
Saito, R., Fujita, F., Dresselhaus, G. & Dresselhaus, M. S. Phys. Rev. B46, 1804â1811 (1992).
Robertson, D. H., Brenner, D. W. & Mintmire, J. W. Phys. Rev. B45, 12592â12595 (1992).
Ebbesen, T.W. & Ajayan, P.M. Nature 368, 220â222 (1992).
Ando, Y. & Iijima, S. Jpn. J. appl. Phys. 32, L107âL109 (1993).
Oberlin, A. & Endo, M. J. Cryst. Growth 32, 335â349 (1976).
Iijima, S. Chem. Sripta l4, 117â123 (1978â79).
Iijima, S., Ichihashi, T. & Ando, Y. Nature 356, 776â778 (1992).
Ajayan, P.M. Ichihashi, T. & Iijima, S. Chem. Phys. Lett. 202, 384â388 (1992).
White, C. T., Robertson, D. H. & Mintmire, J. W. Phys. Rev. B47, 5485â5488 (1993).
Iijima, S., Ajayan, P. M. & Ichihashi, T. Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 3100â3103 (1992).
Iijima, S. Mat. Sci. Enging B. (in the press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Iijima, S., Ichihashi, T. Single-shell carbon nanotubes of 1-nm diameter. Nature 363, 603â605 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/363603a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/363603a0
This article is cited by
-
PdNPs/NiNWs as a welding tool for the synthesis of polyfluorene derivatives by Suzuki polycondensation under microwave radiation
Scientific Reports (2024)
-
Giant nanomechanical energy storage capacity in twisted single-walled carbon nanotube ropes
Nature Nanotechnology (2024)
-
Experimental determination of the Youngâs modulus of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes with single chirality
Nano Research (2024)
-
Theoretical Substantiation of the Possibility of Predicting the Catalytic Activity of Carbon Nanotubes in the DielsâAlder Reaction
Catalysis Letters (2024)
-
Liquid-phase synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes using Co and Ir nanoparticle catalysts
Journal of Nanoparticle Research (2024)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.