We investigate low-dimensional carbon materials, in particular carbon nanotubes (1D), diamondoids (0D), and semiconductor nanocrystals (0D).
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are 1D carbon nanostructures, which can be viewed as graphene sheets rolled into a cylinder. Their properties depend critically on the atomic arrangement: even with similar diameter, CNT can be semiconducting or metallic, depending on the helical angle [given by the chiral index (n,m)]. Resonance Raman spectroscopy is a very elegant method to identify the chiral index of CNT. Currently, we are interested in the properties of chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes, in particular optical spectroscopy on the level of individual functional groups in (n,m)-identified CNT.
Diamondoids are cage-like hydrocarbons with diamond structure (sp3 bonding); by combined theoretical and experimental methods we study the interplay of sp3 bonds with sp2 bonds, which connect two diamondoids in dimer structures, and their effect on the electronic band structure.