RAMAN STUDIES ON SINGLE WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES PRODUCED BY THE ELECTRIC-ARC TECHNIQUE

Carbon single walled nanotubes (SWNTs) have been produced in high yiel ds using the electric are technique. TEM studies show that the SWNTs h ave a narrow diameter distribution around an average value of 1.3 nm. In this paper, we focus on the characterization of these samples by hi gh resolution Raman spectroscopy (HRRS). The presence of large amounts of SWNTs in the samples induces a very rich structure in the Raman sp ectra, typical for this class of carbonaceous material. Armchair tubes with (8,8) to (12,12) geometry can be detected, in agreement with the narrow diameter distribution observed by TEM measurements. The abilit y of HRRS as a highly sensitive fingerprint technique in identifying S WNTs with different diameters and geometries is discussed. (C) 1998 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.