When double-wall carbon nanotubes can become metallic or semiconducting

The electronic properties of double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) are investigated via density functional theory. The DWCNTs are separated into four categories wherein the inner-outer nanotubes are metal-metal, metal-semiconductor, semiconductor-metal and semiconductor-semiconductor single-wall nanotubes. The band structure of the DWCNTs, the local density of states of the inner and outer nanotubes, and the total density of states are calculated. We found that for the metal-metal DWCNTs, the inner and outer nanotubes remain metallic for different distances between the walls, while for the metal-semiconductor DWCNTs, decreasing the distance between the walls leads to a phase transition in which both nanotubes become metallic. In the case of semiconductor-metal DWCNTs, it is found that at some distance the inner wall becomes metallic, while the outer wall becomes a semiconductor, and if the distance is decreased, both walls become metallic. Finally, in the semiconductor-semiconductor DWCNTs, if the two walls are far from each other, then the whole DWCNT and both walls remain semiconducting. By decreasing the wall distance, first the inner, and then the outer, nanotube becomes metallic.