Graphene properties

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D. Elias, et al. Control of graphenes properties by reversible hydrogenation Evidence for graphane. Science, 2009. 323(5914) p. 610-613. 

Graphene Properties, preparation, characterisation and devices Edited by V. Skdkalovd and A. B. Kaiser... 

Carbon nanotube research was greatly stimulated by the initial report of observation of carbon tubules of nanometer dimensions[l] and the subsequent report on the observation of conditions for the synthesis of large quantities of nanotubes[2,3]. Since these early reports, much work has been done, and the results show basically that carbon nanotubes behave like rolled-up cylinders of graphene sheets of bonded carbon atoms, except that the tubule diameters in some cases are small enough to exhibit the effects of one-dimensional (ID) periodicity. In this article, we review simple aspects of the symmetry of carbon nanotubules (both monolayer and multilayer) and comment on the significance of symmetry for the unique properties predicted for carbon nanotubes because of their ID periodicity. 

Carbon nanotubes were first thought of as perfeet seamless eylindrieal graphene sheets —a defeet-free strueture. However, with time and as more studies have been undertaken, it is elear that nanotubes are not neeessarily that perfeet this issue is not simple bc-eause of a variety of seemingly eontradictory observations. The issue is further eomplicated by the faet that the quality of a nanotube sample depends very mueh on the type of maehine used to prepare it[l]. Although nanotubes have been available in large quantities sinee 1992[2], it is only recently that a purification method was found[3]. So, it is now possible to undertake various accurate property measurements of nanotubes. However, for those measurements to be meaningful, the presence and role of defeets must be elearly understood. 

The question whieh then arises is What do we call a defect in a nanotube To answer this question, we need to define what would be a perfeet nanotube. Nanotubes are mieroerystals whose properties are mainly defined by the hexagonal network that forms the eentral cylindrical part of the tube. After all, with an aspect ratio (length over diameter) of 100 to 1000, the tip structure will be a small perturbation except near the ends. This is clear from Raman studies[4] and is also the basis for calculations on nanotube proper-ties[5-7]. So, a perfect nanotube would be a cylindrical graphene sheet composed only of hexagons having a minimum of defects at the tips to form a closed seamless structure. 

The yield strengths of defect-free SWNTs may be higher than that measured for Bacon s scroll structures, and measurements on defect-free carbon nanotubes may allow the prediction of the yield strength of a single, defect-free graphene sheet. Also, the yield strengths of MWNTs are subject to the same limitations discussed above with respect to tube slippage. All the discussion here relates to ideal nanotubes real carbon nanotubes may contain faults of various types that will influence their properties and require experimental measurements of their mechanical constants. 

Preparation research of SWCNT was also put forth by lijima and his co-worker [3]. The structure of SWCNT consists of an enrolled graphene to form a tube without seam. The length and diameter depend on the kinds of the metal catalyst used in the synthesis. The maximum length is several jim and the diameter varies from 1 to 3 nm. The thinnest diameter is about the same as that of Cgo (i.e., ca. 0.7 nm). The structure and characteristics of SWCNT are apparently different from those of MWCNT and rather near to fullerenes. Hence novel physical properties of SWCNT as the one-dimensional material between molecule and bulk are expected. On the other hand, the physical property of MWCNT is almost similar to that of graphite used as bulk [6c]. 

The optimised interlayer distance of a concentric bilayered CNT by density-functional theory treatment was calculated to be 3.39 A [23] compared with the experimental value of 3.4 A [24]. Modification of the electronic structure (especially metallic state) due to the inner tube has been examined for two kinds of models of concentric bilayered CNT, (5, 5)-(10, 10) and (9, 0)-(18, 0), in the framework of the Huckel-type treatment [25]. The stacked layer patterns considered are illustrated in Fig. 8. It has been predicted that metallic property would not change within this stacking mode due to symmetry reason, which is almost similar to the case in the interlayer interaction of two graphene sheets [26]. Moreover, in the three-dimensional graphite, the interlayer distance of which is 3.35 A [27], there is only a slight overlapping (0.03-0.04 eV) of the HO and the LU bands at the Fermi level of a sheet of graphite plane [28,29],... 

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