Electric charge enhancements in carbon nanotubes: Theory and experiments

Zhao Wang, Mariusz Zdrojek, Thierry Melin, Michel Devel

Published 2009-09-16Version 1

We present a detailed study of the static enhancement effects of electric charges in micron-length single-walled carbon nanotubes, using theoretically an atomic charge-dipole model and experimentally electrostatic force microscopy. We demonstrate that nanotubes exhibit at their ends surprisingly weak charge enhancements which decrease with the nanotube length and increase with the nanotube radius. A quantitative agreement is obtained between theory and experiments.