Smallest carbon nanotube Is 3 Å in diameter -: art. no. 125502

Previous energetic considerations have led to the belief that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of 4 Angstrom in diameter are the smallest stable CNTs. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we find that a stable 3 Angstrom CNT can be grown inside a multiwalled carbon nanotube. Density functional calculations indicate that the 3 Angstrom CNT is the armchair CNT(2,2) with a radial breathing mode at 787 cm(-1). Each end can be capped by half of a C-12 cage (hexagonal prism) containing tetragons.