Carbon nanotube structures changed by ’attack’ from within, researchers discover

A team of researchers has shown for the first time that chemical reactions at the nano-level which change the structure of carbon nanotubes can be sparked by an 'attack' from within. The discovery challenges previous scientific thinking that the internal surface of the hollow nanostructures is chemically unreactive, largely restricting their use to that of an inert container or a 'nano-reactor' inside which other chemical reactions can take place. Their research, published Chemistry, shows that carbon nanotubes that have had their structures changed are exciting new materials that could be useful in the development of new technologies for gas storage devices, chemical sensors and parts of electronic devices such as transistors. Andrei Khlobystov, of the University's School of Chemistry, who led the work at Nottingham, said: "It has universally been accepted for some time now that the internal surface of carbon nanotubes — or the concave side — is chemically unreactive, and indeed we have been successfully using carbon nanotubes as nano-reactors. "However, in the course of this new research we made the serendipitous discovery that in the presence of catalytically active transition metals inside the nanotube cavity, the nanotube itself can be involved in unexpected chemical reactions." Carbon nanotubes are remarkable nanostructures with a typical diameter of 1-2 nanometres, which is 80,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Khlobystov and his research associates were recently involved in the discovery — published — that nanotubes can be used as a catalyst for the production of nanoribbon, atomically thin strips of carbon created from carbon and sulphur atoms.