Pressure Dependence of the Radial Breathing Mode of Carbon Nanotubes: The Effect of Fluid Adsorption

The pressure dependence of shifts in the vibrational modes of individual carbon nanotubes is strongly affected by the nature of the pressure transmitting medium as a result of adsorption at the nanotube surface. The adsorbate is treated as an elastic shell which couples with the radial breathing mode (RBM) of the nanotube via van der Waal interactions. Using analytical methods as well as molecular simulation, we observe a low frequency breathing mode for the adsorbed fluid at approximately 50 cm-1, as well as diameter dependent upshifts in the RBM frequency with pressure, suggesting metallic nanotubes may wet more than semiconducting ones.