Carbon nanocapsules: blocking materials inside carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Filled carbon nanotubes are of increased interest due to their potential in a wide variety of applications including drug delivery systems, data storage and nano-electronic devices. Bulk filling of carbon nanotubes always results in samples containing a large amount of unwanted material external to the SWNT walls. For the envisaged applications of filled carbon nanotubes it is necessary to remove the external materials whilst preserving the material encapsulated in the SWNTs. We have observed that this can be achieved by closing the ends of the SWNTs or by using fullerenes to “cork” open-ended SWNTs.