Abstract
We show that the intercalating of alkali atoms with adequate concentration can transform a metallic single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) into a semiconductor tube or a semiconductor SWCNT into a semiconductor tube with different band gaps due to a unique feature of the band structures in some SWCNTs as quasi-one-dimensional materials. As examples, we predict the intercalated structure in the (5,0) tube to be a semiconductor while the pure (5,0) tube is a metal and the structure in the (4,2) tube to be a semiconductor with a direct gap while the pure (4,2) tube has an indirect gap. Results of other alkali atoms intercalating in various carbon nanotubes show that this transition mechanism is quite general.
- Received 13 January 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.71.165438
©2005 American Physical Society