Interactions between individual carbon nanotubes studied by Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy

The electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are altered by intertube coupling whenever bundles are formed. These effects are examined experimentally by applying Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy to probe the optical transitions of given individual SWNTs in their isolated and bundled forms. The transition energies of SWNTs are observed to undergo redshifts of tens of meVs upon bundling with other SWNTs. These intertube coupling effects can be understood as arising from the mutual dielectric screening of SWNTs in a bundle.