Electrochemical Functionalization of Individual Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

An electrochemical method is applied to attach functional groups to individual single‐wall carbon nanotubes. This approach allows both the reductive and oxidative coupling of substituted phenyl groups. Due to polymerization of the reactive species formed at the nanotube/electrolyte interface, coatings with a thickness of up to 20 nm are obtained. The thickness of the deposited layer can be effectively controlled by the magnitude and duration of the potential applied. By choosing appropriate additional substituents in the coupling reagent, the presented method offers the possibility to tune the surface properties of the modified nanotubes over a wide range.