Spectroscopic Characterization of Nanohybrids Consisting of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Fullerodendron |
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| Authors: | Hironori Suzuki Yoko Iizumi Masayoshi Tange Soon-Kil Joung Akihiro Furube Takaaki Wada |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry , University of Tsukuba , Tsukuba , Japan;2. Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , Tsukuba , Japan;3. Technology Research Association for Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (TASC), AIST , Tsukuba , Japan;4. Research Institute of Instrumentation Frontier (RIIF), AIST , Tsukuba , Japan;5. Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science , Okayama University , Okayama , Japan |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Hydrogen gas, which can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity, is considered the ultimate clean energy source. Recently, it was reported that a photo-induced electron transfer system consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and fullerodendrons shows photo-catalytic activity with a very high quantum yield for splitting water under visible light irradiation. However, the mechanism of high efficiency hydrogen generation is not yet clearly understood. We report here the spectroscopic characterizations of the SWCNT-fullerodendron composites. The results indicate two important fundamental properties of the composite system. First, fullerodendrons preferentially interact with the semiconducting SWCNTs instead of with their metallic counterparts. Second, the photo-induced electron transfer process from the C60 moiety of fullerodendrons to SWCNTs occurs more efficiently with an increasing tube diameter. |
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| Keywords: | Carbon nanotube fullerene dendrimer supramolecule optical spectroscopy |
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