A carbon nanotube network conjugated by semiconductor nanoparticles with defined nanometer-scaled gaps

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been attracting broad interest in many research fields including nano-electronics and micro-/nano-electromechanical systems because of their unique physical and electronic properties. Utilizing a biological material, a novel nanostructure of carbon nanotube conjugated by semiconductor nanoparticles were synthesized intended for electronics devices with unprecedented properties. A peptide aptamer that has an affinity for carbonaceous materials was fused to a cage-shaped protein, LiDps, to be displayed on its outer surface. Semiconductor nanoparticle was synthesized within a cavity of the engineered protein, NHBP-LiDps. By the affinity of the peptide aptamer, the NHBP-LiDps proteins accommodating semiconductor nanoparticles were adhered to surround the CNTs with nanometer-scaled gap defined by the thickness of the protein-cage. The CNTs conjugated by the NHBP-LiDps were adsorbed onto a pair of electrodes, making CNT network with dispersed nanoparticles. We report our attempt to characterize the electronic property of the structure.