Various bonding configurations of transition-metal atoms on carbon nanotubes: Their effect on contact resistance

Our investigations reveal that the bonding of the transition-metal atoms on a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCN) depends on the detailed contact conditions. On the basis of our results, we suggest that the early 3-d elements (Sc, Ti, and V) can be expected to be good candidates for making metal-SWCN contacts of low resistance, while contacts employing the late 3-d elements (Fe, Co, and Ni) and Cu are expected to exhibit large contact resistance. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)03326-X].