Revealing the Adsorption Mechanisms of Nitroxides on Ultrapure, Metallicity-Sorted Carbon Nanotubes

Author(s)
Georgina Ruiz Soria, Alejandro Perez Paz, Markus Sauer, Duncan John Mowbray, Paolo Lacovig, Matteo Dalmiglio, Silvan Lizzit, Kazuhiro Yanagi, Angel Rubio, Andrea Goldoni, Paola Ayala, Thomas Pichler
Abstract

Carbon nanotubes are a natural choice as gas sensor components given their high surface to volume ratio, electronic properties, and capability to mediate chemical reactions. However, a realistic assessment of the interaction of the tube wall and the adsorption processes during gas phase reactions has always been elusive. Making use of ultraclean single-walled carbon nanotubes, we have followed the adsorption kinetics of NO

2 and found a physisorption mechanism. Additionally, the adsorption reaction directly depends on the metallic character of the samples. Franck-Condon satellites, hitherto undetected in nanotube-NO

x systems, were resolved in the N 1s X-ray absorption signal, revealing a weak chemisorption, which is intrinsically related to NO dimer molecules. This has allowed us to identify that an additional signal observed in the higher binding energy region of the core level C 1s photoemission signal is due to the Cî-O species of ketene groups formed as reaction byproducts. This has been supported by density functional theory calculations. These results pave the way toward the optimization of nanotube-based sensors with tailored sensitivity and selectivity to different species at room temperature.

Organisation(s)
Electronic Properties of Materials
External organisation(s)
Elettra─Sincrotrone Trieste, Tokyo Metropolitan University, University of the Basque Country
Journal
ACS Nano
Volume
8
Pages
1375-1383
No. of pages
9
ISSN
1936-0851
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/nn405114z
Publication date
02-2014
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103020 Surface physics, 103018 Materials physics, 103009 Solid state physics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
General Engineering, General Physics and Astronomy, General Materials Science
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/b9418516-a5a5-4019-bde8-b407483b6ff9