NIRT: Functionalizing Nanotubes for Novel Properties or Devices - An Integrated Theoretical and Experimental Approach

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to develop new forms of nanodevices based on functionalized nanotubes. Novel functionalization strategies will be introduced to engineer the electronic and structural properties of nanotubes, and also to enable their effective integration into new nanoscale devices and in conventional semiconductor electronics. These goals will be achieved by unique teamwork that combines experimental efforts with theoretical modeling and screening. Deliverables will include the development of 1) p-n junctions via chemical and field doping, 2) nanotubes sensors for chemical and contaminant detection, and 3) functionalizations capable of controlling the electric and magnetic response inside the tubes, for mass and information transport and storage. The team is integrating research and educational activities with the development of novel educational curricula - starting at the undergraduate level - that combine modeling and simulation at the nanoscale with cutting-edge hands-on experimental experience. %%% Novel devices based on modified carbon nanotubes that have organic molecules covalently linked to their walls are being created by combining the exceptional structural stability and electronic properties of microscopic wires with the diversity and tunability of material properties that come from the molecular attachments. These novel devices will represent a combination of advanced microelectronics and of organic chemistry, and will open an untapped potential in the creation of a new generation of electronics that is based on the principles of self-assembly, recognition, and tunability, in close analogy with organic and biological molecules. These goals are being pursued by directing and screening cutting-edge experimental techniques with quantum-mechanical modeling, in order to achieve the efficiency and the intuition that are needed in the field of nanotechnology, where common-sense physical intuition is constantly overruled by the fundamental laws of quantum-mechanics. This experience will be brought into the classroom to train a new generation of scientists in the area of nanoscale manipulation. This research will provide novel ways to create electronic circuits that do not require multi-billion dollar fabrication facilities, and that bring diffuse, embedded technologies to multiple uses that benefit society.