A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon seed folds up into a cap when heated on a platinum surface. This cap dictates the chirality of the nanotube, approximately 2 nm in diameter, that grows from it.
Credit: Juan Ramon Sanchez-Valencia
Seeds Sprout Select Nanotubes
Nanotechnology: Chemists create just one type of single-walled carbon nanotube from polycyclic precursor
Using a 96-carbon polycyclic aromatic molecule as a seed, chemists have managed to make single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) of just one type—a long-sought goal in nanotechnology. Being able to make nanotubes of a specific type should help scientists better exploit their promising electronic properties. read at……………………..
