LDRD final report : energy conversion using chromophore-functionalized carbon nanotubes.

Vance, Andrew L. ; Zifer, Thomas ; Zhou, Xinjian ; Leonard, Francois Leonard ; Wong, Bryan Matthew ; Kane, Alexander ; Katzenmeyer, Aaron Michael ; Krafcik, Karen Lee

关键词: CARBON;    DIPOLE MOMENTS;    ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE;    ELECTROSTATICS;    ENERGY CONVERSION;    NANOTUBES;    PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS;    DESIGN;    AZO COMPOUNDS;    VISIBLE RADIATION Direct energy conversion.;    Energy con;   

DOI  :  10.2172/990068
RP-ID  :  SAND2010-5999
PID  :  OSTI ID: 990068
Others  :  TRN: US201020%%460

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

With the goal of studying the conversion of optical energy to electrical energy at the nanoscale, we developed and tested devices based on single-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with azobenzene chromophores, where the chromophores serve as photoabsorbers and the nanotube as the electronic read-out. By synthesizing chromophores with specific absorption windows in the visible spectrum and anchoring them to the nanotube surface, we demonstrated the controlled detection of visible light of low intensity in narrow ranges of wavelengths. Our measurements suggested that upon photoabsorption, the chromophores isomerize to give a large change in dipole moment, changing the electrostatic environment of the nanotube. All-electron ab initio calculations were used to study the chromophore-nanotube hybrids, and show that the chromophores bind strongly to the nanotubes without disturbing the electronic structure of either species. Calculated values of the dipole moments supported the notion of dipole changes as the optical detection mechanism.