In particular, we will present the synthesis of mechanically interlocked derivatives of SWNTs (MINTs), which are rotaxane-type materials, the first example of, a 0D-1D mixed dimensional heterostructure interfaced through the mechanical bond (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, Chem. Commun. 2015, Chem. Sci. 2017, Chem. Eur. J. 2017). We will also show that the effect of the mechanical bond on the properties of SWNTs is unique, and clearly different from the noninterlocked, supramolecular compounds (Nanoscale 2016, ACS Nano 2016)
We will also show that the encapsulation of viologen derivatives into metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) results in the opening of a band gap, making the SWNTs semiconducting. Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and aberration-corrected high-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirm the encapsulation process. Through the fabrication of field-effect transistor devices, the change of the electronic structure of the tubes from metallic to semiconducting upon the encapsulation is confirmed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017).
In summary we present two novel noncovalent strategies to functionalize the outside and the inside of SWNTs, with direct consequences to their electronic properties.