13C NMR chemical shift of single-wall carbon nanotubes

Structure and Thermodynamics of Silicon Oxycarbide Polymer-Derived Ceramics with and without Mixed-Bonding

Silicon oxycarbides synthesized through a conventional polymeric route show characteristic nanodomains that consist of sp² hybridized carbon, tetrahedrally coordinated SiO_4, and tetrahedrally coordinated silicon with carbon substitution for oxygen, called “mixed bonds.” Here we synthesize two preceramic polymers possessing both phenyl substituents as unique organic groups. In one precursor, the phenyl group is directly bonded to silicon, resulting in a SiOC polymer-derived ceramic (PDC) with mixed bonding. In the other precursor, the phenyl group is bonded to the silicon through Si-O-C bridges, which results in a SiOC PDC without mixed bonding. Radial breathing-like mode bands in the Raman spectra reveal that SiOC PDCs contain carbon nanoscrolls with spiral-like rolled-up geometry and open edges at the ends of their structure. Calorimetric measurements of the heat of dissolution in a molten salt solvent show that the SiOC PDCs with mixed bonding have negative enthalpies of formation with respect to crystalline components (silicon carbide, cristobalite, and graphite) and are more thermodynamically stable than those without. The heats of formation from crystalline SiO₂, SiC, and C of SiOC PDCs without mixed bonding are close to zero and depend on the pyrolysis temperature. Solid state MAS NMR confirms the presence or absence of mixed bonding and further shows that, without mixed bonding, terminal hydroxyls are bound to some of the Si-O tetrahedra. This study indicates that mixed bonding, along with additional factors, such as the presence of terminal hydroxyl groups, contributes to the thermodynamic stability of SiOC PDCs.

Using the 19F NMR chemical shift anisotropy tensor to differentiate between the zigzag and chiral forms of fluorinated single-walled carbon nanotubes

The structural characterization of different kinds of zigzag and chiral single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) has been investigated theoretically using (19)F NMR spectroscopy. The chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor is computed at different levels of theory for the (19)F nuclei in different forms of functionalized fluorinated carbon nanotubes (CNT). A set of fluorine CSA parameters comprising the span, skew, and isotropic chemical shift is computed for each form of the fluoronanotubes and multidimensional CSA parameter correlation maps are constructed. We show that these correlations are able to clearly distinguish between the chiral and zigzag forms of fluorinated carbon nanotubes (F-SWNTs). Implications for solid-state and liquid-state NMR experiments are discussed.

Solid-state 13C NMR assignment of carbon resonances on metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

Solid-state (13)C NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the chemical shift of nanotube carbons on m- and s-SWNTs (metallic and semiconducting single-walled nanotubes) for samples with widely varying s-SWNT content, including samples highly enriched with nearly 100% m- and s-SWNTs. High-resolution (13)C NMR was found to be a sensitive probe for m- and s-SWNTs in mixed SWNT samples with diameters of approximately 1.3 nm. The two highly enriched m- and s-SWNT samples clearly exhibited features for m- and s-SNWT (13)C nuclei (approximately 123 and 122 ppm, respectively) and were successfully fit with a single Gaussian, while five mixed samples required two Gaussians for a satisfactory fit.

Theoretical studies on structures, 13C NMR chemical shifts, aromaticity, and chemical reactivity of finite-length open-ended armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes

The geometries, chemical shifts, aromaticity, and reactivity of finite-length open-ended armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been studied within density functional theory. The widely used model of capping hydrogen atoms at the open ends of a SWCNT changes the chemical activity of the SWCNT and destabilizes the frontier molecular orbitals. The edge pi-orbital of the open ends enhances both pi- and sigma-aromaticity of the first belt of hexagons of carbon atoms at the open ends. The effect of the open ends on the structure and chemical reactivity of the SWCNT reaches only the first several layers of the hexagons of carbon atoms. Additions of carbene and dichlorocarbene to the nanotube reveal that the open ends have higher reactivities than the inner regions.

A Density Functional Study of the 13C NMR Chemical Shifts in Functionalized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The 13C NMR chemical shifts for functionalized (7,0), (8,0), (9,0), and (10,0) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been studied computationally using gauge-including projector-augmented plane-wave (GIPAW) density functional theory (DFT). The functional groups NH, NCH3, NCH2OH, and CH2NHCH2 have been considered, and different sites where covalent addition or substitution may occur have been examined. The shifts of the carbons directly attached to the group are sensitive to the bond which has been functionalized and may, therefore, be used to identify whether the group has reacted with a parallel or a diagonal C-C bond. The addition of NH to a parallel bond renders the functionalized carbons formally sp3-hybridized, yielding shifts of around 44 ppm, independent of the SWNT radius. Reaction with a diagonal bond retains the formal sp2 hybridization of the substituted carbons, and their shifts are slightly lower or higher than those of the unsubstituted carbon atoms. The calculated 1H NMR shifts of protons in the functional groups are also dependent upon the SWNT-group interaction. Upon decreasing the degree of functionalization for the systems where the group is added to a parallel bond, the average chemical shift of the unfunctionalized carbons approaches that of the pristine tube. At the same time, the shifts of the functionalized carbons remain independent upon the degree of functionalization. For the SWNTs where N-R attaches to a parallel bond, the average shift of the sp2 carbons was found to be insensitive to the substituent R. Moreover, the shifts of the functionalized sp3 carbons, as well as of the carbons within the group itself, are independent of the SWNT radius. The results indicate that a wealth of knowledge may be obtained from the 13C NMR of functionalized SWNTs.

Electronic and optical properties of finite carbon nanotubes in an electric field

The effects, caused by the geometric structure and an electric field (E), on the electronic and optical properties of quasi-zero-dimensional finite carbon nanotubes are explored by employing the tight-binding model coupled with curvature effects. Electronic properties (state energies, symmetry of electronic states, energy spacing and state degeneracy) are significantly affected by the magnitude and the direction of the electric field and the geometric structure (radius, length and chirality). The electric field, by lowering the symmetry of finite carbon nanotubes, modifies the electronic properties. Thus, the optical excitation spectra, excited by electric polarization parallel to the nanotube axis, exhibit rich delta-function-like peaks, which reveal the characteristics of the electronic properties. Therefore it follows that geometric structure and E influence the low-energy absorption spectra, i.e. the change of frequency of the first peak, the alternation of the peak height and the production of the new peaks. There are more absorption peaks when E is oriented closer to the cross-section plane. Moreover, the very complicated optical absorption spectra are characteristic for the individual chiral carbon nanotube due to its specific geometric structure. Above all, the predicted absorption spectra and the associated electronic properties could be verified by optical measurements.

Density Functional Study of the 13C NMR Chemical Shifts in Small-to-Medium-Diameter Infinite Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

NMR chemical shifts were calculated for semiconducting (n,0) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with n ranging from 7 to 17. Infinite isolated SWNTs were calculated using a gauge-including projector-augmented plane-wave (GIPAW) approach with periodic boundary conditions and density functional theory (DFT). In order to minimize intertube interactions in the GIPAW computations, an intertube distance of 8 A was chosen. For the infinite tubes, we found a chemical shift range of over 20 ppm for the systems considered here. The SWNT family with lambda = mod(n, 3) = 0 has much smaller chemical shifts compared to the other two families with lambda = 1 and lambda = 2. For all three families, the chemical shifts decrease roughly inversely proportional to the tube's diameter. The results were compared to calculations of finite capped SWNT fragments using a gauge-including atomic orbital (GIAO) basis. Direct comparison of the two types of calculations could be made if benzene was used as the internal (computational) reference. The NMR chemical shifts of finite SWNTs were found to converge very slowly, if at all, to the infinite limit, indicating that capping has a strong effect (at least for the (9,0) tubes) on the calculated properties. Our results suggest that (13)C NMR has the potential for becoming a useful tool in characterizing SWNT samples.

Protonation of carbon single-walled nanotubes studied using 13C and 1H-13C cross polarization nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopies

The reversible protonation of carbon single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) in sulfuric acid and Nafion was investigated using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Raman spectroscopies. Magic-angle spinning (MAS) was used to obtain high-resolution 13C and 1H-13C cross polarization (CP) NMR spectra. The 13C NMR chemical shifts are reported for bulk SWNTs, H2SO4-treated SWNTs, SWNT-Nafion polymer composites, SWNT-AQ55 polymer composites, and SWNTs in contact with water. Protonation occurs without irreversible oxidation of the nanotube substrate via a charge-transfer process. This is the first report of a chemically induced change in a SWNT 13C resonance brought about by a reversible interaction with an acidic proton, providing additional evidence that carbon nanotubes behave as weak bases. Cross polarization was found to be a powerful technique for providing an additional contrast mechanism for studying nanotubes in contact with other chemical species. The CP studies confirmed polarization transfer from nearby protons to nanotube carbon atoms. The CP technique was also applied to investigate water adsorbed on carbon nanotube surfaces. Finally, the degree of bundling of the SWNTs in Nafion films was probed with the 1H-13C CP-MAS technique.

Theoretical Study of the 13C NMR Spectroscopy of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The 13C NMR spectroscopy of armchair and zigzag single-walled carbon nanotubes has been investigated theoretically. Spectra for (4,4), (5,5), (6,6), (6,0), (9,0), and (10,0) nanotubes have been simulated based on ab initio calculations of model systems. The calculations predict a dominant band arising from the carbon atoms in the "tube" with smaller peaks at higher chemical shifts arising from the carbon atoms of the caps. The dominant band lies in the range of 128 and 138 ppm. Its position depends weakly on the length, width, and chirality of the tubes. The calculations demonstrate how structural information may be gleaned from relatively low-resolution nanotube 13C NMR spectra.

NMR detection of single-walled carbon nanotubes in solution

The detection of nanotube carbons in solution by (13)C NMR is reported. The highly soluble sample was from the functionalization of (13)C-enriched single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with diamine-terminated oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG(1500N)). The ferromagnetic impurities due to the residual metal catalysts were removed from the sample via repeated magnetic separation. The nanotube carbon signals are broad but partially resolved into two overlapping peaks, which are tentatively assigned to nanotube carbons on semiconducting (upfield) and metallic (downfield) SWNTs. The solid-state NMR signals of the same sample are similarly resolved. Mechanistic and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Density functional calculations of the 13C NMR chemical shifts in (9,0) single-walled carbon nanotubes

The electronic structure and (13)C NMR chemical shift of (9,0) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are investigated theoretically. Shielding tensor components are also reported. Density functional calculations were carried out for C(30)-capped and H-capped fragments which serve as model systems for the infinite (9,0) SWNT. Based on the vanishing HOMO-LUMO gap, H-capped nanotube fragments are predicted to exhibit "metallic" behavior. The (13)C chemical shift approaches a value of approximately 133 ppm for the longest fragment studied here. The C(30)-capped SWNT fragments of D(3d)/D(3h) symmetry, on the other hand, are predicted to be small-gap semiconductors just like the infinite (9,0) SWNT. The differences in successive HOMO-LUMO gaps and HOMO and LUMO energies, as well as the (13)C NMR chemical shifts, converge slightly faster with the fragment's length than for the H-capped tubes. The difference between the H-capped and C(30)-capped fragments is analyzed in some detail. The results indicate that (at least at lengths currently accessible to quantum chemical computations) the H-capped systems represent less suitable models for the (9,0) SWNT because of pronounced artifacts due to their finite length. From our calculations for the C(30)-capped fragments, the chemical shift of a carbon atom in the (9,0) SWNT is predicted to be about 130 ppm. This value is in reasonably good agreement with experimental estimates for the (13)C chemical shift in SWNTs.

Sidewall Carboxylic Acid Functionalization of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The reactions of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with succinic or glutaric acid acyl peroxides in o-dichlorobenzene at 80-90 degrees C resulted in the addition of 2-carboxyethyl or 3-carboxypropyl groups, respectively, to the sidewalls of the SWNT. These acid-functionalized SWNTs were converted to acid chlorides by derivatization with SOCl(2) and then to amides with terminal diamines such as ethylenediamine, 4,4'-methylenebis(cyclohexylamine), and diethyltoluenediamine. The acid-functionalized SWNTs and the amide derivatives were characterized by a set of materials characterization methods including attenuated total reflectance (ATR) FTIR, Raman and solid state (13)C NMR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermal gravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS). The degree of SWNT sidewall functionalization with the acid-terminated groups was estimated as 1 in 24 carbons on the basis of TG-MS data. In comparison with the pristine SWNTs, the acid-functionalized SWNTs show an improved solubility in polar solvents, for example, alcohols and water, which enables their processing for incorporation into polymer composite structures as well as for a variety of biomedical applications.