Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Peptide-Coated Carbon Nanotubes

Numerous applications, from molecular electronics to super‐strong composites, have been suggested for carbon nanotubes. Despite this promise, difficulty in assembling raw carbon nanotubes into functional structures is a deterrent for applications. In contrast, biological materials have evolved to se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2004-12, Vol.14 (12), p.1147-1151
Main Authors: Dalton, A. B., Ortiz-Acevedo, A., Zorbas, V., Brunner, E., Sampson, W. M., Collins, S., Razal, J. M., Miki Yoshida, M., Baughman, R. H., Draper, R. K., Musselman, I. H., Jose-Yacaman, M., Dieckmann, G. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotubes
Nanotubes
Nanotubes, single‐walled
Peptides
Self-assembly
single-walled
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Summary:Numerous applications, from molecular electronics to super‐strong composites, have been suggested for carbon nanotubes. Despite this promise, difficulty in assembling raw carbon nanotubes into functional structures is a deterrent for applications. In contrast, biological materials have evolved to self‐assemble, and the lessons of their self‐assembly can be applied to synthetic materials such as carbon nanotubes. Here we show that single‐walled carbon nanotubes, coated with a designed amphiphilic peptide, can be assembled into ordered hierarchical structures. This novel methodology offers a new route for controlling the physical properties of nanotube systems at all length scales from the nano‐ to the macroscale. Moreover, this technique is not limited to assembling carbon nanotubes, and could be modified to serve as a general procedure for controllably assembling other nanostructures into functional materials. Nanoscale assembly of designed amphiphilic peptides on individual short carbon nanotubes (see Figure and cover) allows for controlled self‐assembly of the resulting hybrids in a truly hierarchical manner. This novel methodology offers a new route to controlling the physical properties of nanotube systems at length scales from the nanoscale to the macroscale.
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.200400190