Control of near infrared photoluminescence properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes by functionalization with dendrons

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were functionalized by reacting them with sodium naphthalenide and dendrons to control their photoemission in the near-IR region. The functionalized SWNTs were characterized by absorption, Raman, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The degree of functionalization of the SWNTs decreased with the increasing bulkiness of the dendrons used. After functionalization, new red-shifted PL peaks could be observed at ∼1110 and ∼1210 nm where the intensities were drastically enhanced by the thermal treatment. The relative peak intensity of to that of increased with the increasing bulkiness of the dendrons. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the functionalized SWNTs with dendrons suggest that the adducts with less bulky hydroalkylated substitution are stable in Clar structures and the addition positions predominantly determine the PL peak positions.