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Published on: April 15, 2013
Mott insulating state in ultraclean carbon nanotubes
Vikram V Deshpande1, Bhupesh Chandra, Robert Caldwell
1Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 128-95, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 3, 2009
Summary
Carbon nanotubes exhibit a Mott insulating state due to strong electron interactions, revealing they are never truly metallic. This finding has implications for studying one-dimensional correlated electron phenomena.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- The Mott insulating state arises from strong electron-electron interactions in materials that would otherwise be metallic.
- Carbon nanotubes are theoretically predicted to exhibit exotic electronic properties, including Mott insulating behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes and determine if they exhibit a Mott insulating state.
- To characterize the energy gap and its dependence on nanotube dimensions.
Main Methods:
- Transport spectroscopy was employed to measure the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes.
- Analysis focused on identifying energy gaps and their relationship to nanotube radius.
Main Results:
- An energy gap, characteristic of the Mott insulating state, was observed in carbon nanotubes.
- This gap, ranging from 10-100 meV, showed a 1/r dependence on nanotube radius, aligning with theoretical predictions.
- Neutral excitations within the gap were detected, further supporting the Mott insulating state.
Conclusions:
- Carbon nanotubes are fundamentally not metallic, possessing an intrinsic Mott insulating state.
- The observed properties confirm the suitability of carbon nanotubes for exploring one-dimensional correlated electron physics.
