We have used post-synthesis separation methods based on density gradient ultracentrifugation and DNA-based ion-exchange chromatography to produce aqueous suspensions strongly enriched in armchair nanotubes for spectroscopic studies. Through resonant
Raman spectroscopy of the radial breathing mode phonons, we provide macroscopic and unambiguous evidence that density gradient ultracentrifugation can enrich armchair nanotubes. Furthermore, using conventional, optical absorption spectroscopy in the near-infrared and visible range, we show that interband absorption in armchair nanotubes is strongly excitonic. Lastly, by examining the G-band mode in Raman spectra, we determine that observation of the broad, lower frequency (G^{-}) feature is a result of resonance with non-armchair metallic nanotubes. These findings regarding the fundamental optical absorption and scattering processes in metallic carbon nanotubes lay the foundation for further spectroscopic studies to probe many-body physical phenomena in one dimension.
The colors of suspended metallic colloidal particles are determined by their size-dependent plasma resonance, while those of semiconducting colloidal particles are determined by their size-dependent band gap. Here, we present a novel case for armchai
r carbon nanotubes, suspended in aqueous medium, for which the color depends on their size-dependent excitonic resonance, even though the individual particles are metallic. We observe distinct colors of a series of armchair-enriched nanotube suspensions, highlighting the unique coloration mechanism of these one-dimensional metals.
We have used resonant Raman scattering spectroscopy to fully analyze the relative abundances of different (n,m) species in single-walled carbon nanotube samples that are metallically enriched by density gradient ultracentrifugation. Strikingly, the d
ata clearly show that our density gradient ultracentrifugation process enriches the metallic fractions in armchair and near-armchair species. We observe that armchair carbon nanotubes constitute more than 50% of each (2n + m) family.
