Raman Spectroscopy of PbI2 Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Bryan DeBono

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Sendova, Mariana

Keywords

Carbon Nanotubes, Raman Spectroscopy, Non-Destructive Characterization

Area of Concentration

Physics

Abstract

Due to their outstanding mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties carbon nanotubes promise incredible technological advances and have become one of the most highly-researched areas in all of materials science. Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) are a relatively recent interest in this field. This variety of nanotube consists of two concentric single-walled carbon nanotubes bound together by electrostatic forces, and bridges the gap between the single-walled and multi-walled varieties of carbon nanotubes. My work centered on using Raman spectroscopy to analyze double-walled carbon nanotubes that had been filled with PbI2. I was especially interested in examining the structure of PbI2 that has crystallized between the concentric walls of a DWCNT. Pristine PbI2 is a direct gap semiconductor with a hexagonal crystal structure, however, it is theorized that the gap between the walls of a DWCNT (~1nm) is too small to allow PbI2 to crystallize in this form. A weakening was observed in the structural integrity of the outer nanotube wall; this has also been found in DWCNTs filled with related compounds.

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