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Fluorescence has been observed directly across the band gap of semiconducting carbon nanotubes. We obtained individual nanotubes, each encased in a cylindrical micelle, by ultrasonically agitating an aqueous dispersion of raw single-walled carbon nanotubes in sodium dodecyl sulfate and then centrifuging to remove tube bundles, ropes, and residual catalyst. Aggregation of nanotubes into bundles otherwise quenches the fluorescence through interactions with metallic tubes and substantially broadens the absorption spectra. At pH less than 5, the absorption and emission spectra of individual nanotubes show evidence of band gap-selective protonation of the side walls of the tube. This protonation is readily reversed by treatment with base or ultraviolet light.

Spectrofluorimetric measurements on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) isolated in aqueous surfactant suspensions have revealed distinct electronic absorption and emission transitions for more than 30 different semiconducting nanotube species. By combining these fluorimetric results with resonance Raman data, each optical transition has been mapped to a specific (n,m) nanotube structure. Optical spectroscopy can thereby be used to rapidly determine the detailed composition of bulk SWNT samples, providing distributions in both tube diameter and chiral angle. The measured transition frequencies differ substantially from simple theoretical predictions. These deviations may reflect combinations of trigonal warping and excitonic effects.

Fullerene single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) were produced in yields of more than 70 percent by condensation of a laser-vaporized carbon-nickel-cobalt mixture at 1200degreesC. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy showed that these SWNTs are nearly uniform in diameter and that they self-organize into "ropes," which consist of 100 to 500 SWNTs in a two-dimensional triangular lattice with a lattice constant of 17 angstroms. The x-ray form factor is consistent with that of uniformly charged cylinders 13.8 +/- 0.2 angstroms in diameter. The ropes were metallic, with a single-rope resistivity of <10(-4) ohm-centimeters at 300 kelvin. The uniformity of SWNT diameter is attributed to the efficient annealing of an initial fullerene tubelet kept open by a few metal atoms; the optimum diameter is determined by competition between the strain energy of curvature of the graphene sheet and the dangling-bond energy of the open edge, where growth occurs. These factors strongly favor the metallic (10,10) tube with C5v symmetry and an open edge stabilized by triple bonds.

Single-wall fullerene nanotubes were converted from nearly endless, highly tangled ropes into short, open-ended pipes that behave as individual macromolecules. Raw nanotube material was purified in large batches, and the ropes were cut into 100- to 300-nanometer lengths. The resulting pieces formed a stable colloidal suspension in water with the help of surfactants. These suspensions permit a variety of manipulations, such as sorting by length, derivatization, and tethering to gold surfaces.

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