Nanotube electronic structure/properties/device

Nanometer-Sized Electronic Devices The possible use of carbon nanotubes in nanoelectronics has aroused considerable interest. Dramatic recent advances have fueled speculation that nanotubes (SWNTs) will be useful for downsizing circuit dimensions. Because of their unique electronic properties, SWNTs can be interfaced with other materials to form novel heterostructures [156]. The simplest device one can imagine with carbon nanotubes is that involving a bend or a kink, arising from the presence of a diametrically opposite pentagon-heptagon pair. The resultant junction connects two nanotubes of different chirality and hence of different electronic structure, leading to the realization of an intramolecular device. Such a device in SWNTs is found to behave like a diode rectifier [157]. Silicon nanowire-carbon nanotube heterojunctions do indeed exhibit a rectification behavior [158]. 

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are known to possess extraordinary strength.138 Mechanical properties of BN nanotubes would be worthy of exploration. Unlike carbon nanotubes, BN nanotubes are predicted to have stable insulating properties independent of their structure and morphology. Thus, BN tubes can be used as nano-insulating devices for encapsulating conducting materials like metallic wires. Filled BN nanotubes are expected to be useful in nanoscale electronic devices and for the preparation of nano-structured ceramics. 

The ability to synthesize carbon nanostmctures, such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, nanodiamond, and mesoporous carbon functionalize their surface or assemble them into three-dimensional networks has opened new avenues for material design. Carbon nanostructures possess tunable optical, electrical, or mechanical properties, making them ideal candidates for numerous applications ranging from composite structures and chemical sensors to electronic devices and medical implants. 

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