The University of Nottingham researchers have developed a new method of investigating and producing molecules that could lead to the manufacture of novel nanomaterials for applications in the latest-generation ultra speed and compact data storage devices and computers.
The research team has been investigating the application of carbon nanotubes as chemical reactors for atoms and molecules. The researchers observed that when molecules are put into carbon nanotubes, they demonstrate different chemical and physical properties compared to their properties in the free state. Thus, this method allows the manipulation of the functional properties of the molecules, including optical and magnetic, as well as for harnessing their chemical reactivity.
During the study, the researchers demonstrated the application of carbon nanotubes as nanoscale chemical reactors, in which sulphur and carbon atoms were reacted to form a graphene nanoribbon with sulphur atoms around its border.
Dr Andrei Khlobystov, who led the research team, stated that graphene nanoribbons have unique physical properties, which make them a better choice for spintronic and electronic applications than the base material graphene. The production of nanoribbons is very complicated but the Nottingham research team’s method of detaining chemical reactions inside the nanotube allows the instant formation of nanoribbons, he said.
Khlobystov further said that the researchers observed that their nanoribbon has a unique helical twist that alters over time, allowing them to harness the material’s physical properties such as electrical conductivity. Nanoribbon-based devices can be utilized as nano-transistors, nano-actuators and nano-switches in data storage devices or computers.
Source: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk