Disciplines
Physics, Astronomy (100%)
Keywords
Carbon Nanotubes,
Molecular Electronics,
Transmission Electron Microskopy,
HRTEM,
Electron Energy Loss Spectrometry
Abstract
The aim of this multidisciplinary project involving chemists and physicists is to synthesize and to study a new
generation of peapods: nano-hybrid systems composed of a photoactive organic semiconductor (pea) inside the
carbon cage of a single wall carbon nanotube (pod). We expect for these nano-objects new exciting chemical and
physical properties stemming from their low dimensionality, their nanometric size and from the interaction of the
electronic states of the pea and the pod. The study of these properties from a theoretical and experimental point of
view by means of ab-initio calculations, ultra-fast optical spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron
microscopy will be profitable for the understanding of one dimensional assembly of molecules and to start a new
era in nano-optoelectronic devices. The availability of a new class of robust hybrid molecules, optically active in
the visible range, will represent a breakthrough for nanoscience that will be exploited in the construction of single
molecule devices with tunable properties.