Single-walled carbon nanotube-templated crystallization of H2SO4: direct evidence for protonation

Liquid anhydrous sulfuric acid forms molecular "shells" wrapped around single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Temperature-dependent X-ray scattering from aligned acid-swollen fibers shows that crystallization of the bulklike acid surrounding the structured shells is templated by the aligned SWNTs, while the structured shells remain partly ordered, at least for temperatures from 100 to 500 K. The (2 0 0) or ( 0 2) planes of the templated H2SO4 crystallites are parallel to the nanotube axes. This provides solid evidence for the direct protonation of SWNT since the molecules are terminated by hydrogen bonds.