Photoinduced band gap shift and deep levels in luminescent carbon nanotubes

Individual air-suspended single-walled carbon nanotubes are imaged both spatially and spectrally in photoluminescence. At low excitation power, photoluminescence is bright and stable with high quantum efficiency; however, higher power initially causes a gradual red shift and then more severe changes. Blinking, the loss of quantum efficiency, and the appearance of new deep levels are all seen and can be explained by the introduction of defects. We propose that optical excitation induces molecular deposition onto the nanotube by optically induced van der Waals interactions, leading to physisorption and ultimately chemisorption which severely degrades the luminescence.