Helical Polycarbodiimide Cloaking of Carbon Nanotubes Enables Inter-Nanotube Exciton Energy Transfer Modulation
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: The use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as near-infrared optical probes and sensors require the ability to simultaneously modulate nanotube fluorescence and functionally derivatize the nanotube surface using noncovalent methods. We synthesized a small library of polycarbodiimides to noncovalently encapsulate SWCNTs with a diverse set of functional coatings, enabling their suspension in aqueous solution. These polymers, known to adopt helical conformations, exhibited ordered surface coverage on the nanotubes and allowed systematic modulation of nanotube optical properties, producing up to 12-fold differences in photoluminescence efficiency. Polymer cloaking of the fluorescent nanotubes facilitated the first instance of controllable and reversible internanotube exciton energy transfer, allowing kinetic measurements of dynamic self-assembly and disassembly.
DOI: 10.1021/ja505529n
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: American Cancer Society, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
OpenAlex ID: W2334232629