Controlled fabrication of intermolecular junctions of single-walled carbon nanotube/graphene nanoribbon

Intramolecular junctions can be formed in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by introducing a pentagon and/or heptagon into the hexagonal carbon lattice. The realization of these carbon-based molecular electronics is still quite challenging. Here, it is reported that nickel or cobalt catalyzed etching can be applied to partially unzip an SWNT into an intermolecular junction of SWNT/graphene nanoribbon, directly confirmed by atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.