Improved selectivity in discriminating handedness and diameter of single-walled carbon nanotubes with N-substituted 3,6-carbazolylene-bridged chiral diporphyrin nanotweezers

Nanoscale. 2011 Oct 5;3(10):4117-24. doi: 10.1039/c1nr10211g. Epub 2011 Jun 15.

Abstract

Chiral diporphyrin nanotweezers 1 consisting of two chiral porphyrins with N-substituted 3,6-carbazolylene in between have been studied for the separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). As compared to the analogous nanotweezers 2 without an N-substitutent, nanotweezers 1 with the N-octylcarbazolylene spacer exhibit much higher extraction ability and better selectivity for SWNTs. A narrower diameter range of SWNTs, from 0.88 to 0.92 nm, was selectively extracted with nanotweezers 1. In addition, only (7,6)-SWNTs of 0.90 nm diameter were optically enriched through extraction with 1, while SWNTs extracted with 2 showed lower optical purity of (7,6)-SWNTs. These enhanced extraction and discrimination abilities of 1 can be attributed to the formation of a more stable SWNT complex of 1 than of 2 in methanol.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbazoles / chemistry*
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
  • Porphyrins / chemistry*
  • Spectrophotometry
  • Stereoisomerism

Substances

  • Carbazoles
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Porphyrins
  • carbazole