FULLERENE PIPES

Single-wall fullerene nanotubes were converted from nearly endless, hi ghly tangled ropes into short, open-ended pipes that behave as individ ual macromolecules. Raw nanotube material was purified in large batche s, and the ropes were cut into 100- to 300-nanometer lengths. The resu lting pieces formed a stable colloidal suspension in water with the he lp of surfactants. These suspensions permit a variety of manipulations , such as sorting by length, derivatization, and tethering to gold sur faces.