DNA-guided lattice remodeling of carbon nanotubes

Ordering surface modifications

Although several methods exist for functionalizing the surface of carbon nanotubes, the sites modified tend to be random. However, ordered functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) could lead to quantum properties. Lin et al. screened short DNA sequences containing cytosine (C) and guanine (G) to control the placement of G for photo–cross-linking reactions (see the Perspective by Wang). Spectroscopy and cryo–electron microscopy showed that for the (8,3)-SWCNT enantiomer, the sequences C3GC7GC3 regularly created an ordered helical structure with a 6.5-angstrom periodicity in which G bridges two carbon atoms. —PDS