Sidewall Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes This work was supported by the European Union under the 5th Framework Research Training Network 1999, HPRNT 1999-00011 FUNCARS.

The addition of nitrenes, nucleophilic carbenes, and radicals affords soluble, individual single-walled nanotubes (shown here is a carbene-functionalized adduct) by covalent sidewall functionalization. The characterization, a fundamental problem in nanotube chemistry, is simple to carry out.