The properties of carbon-based nanomaterials can be
altered and engineered through the deliberate introduction of
certain structural “imperfections” or defects. The challenge,
however, is to control the number and type of these defects. In the
case of carbon nanotubes—microscopically small tubular compounds
that emit light in the near-infrared—chemists and materials
scientists at Heidelberg University led by Prof. Dr. Jana Zaumseil
have now demonstrated a new reaction pathway to enable such defect
control. It results in specific optically active defects—so-called
sp3 defects—which are more luminescent and can emit single photons,
that is, particles of light. The efficient emission of
near-infrared light is important for applications in
telecommunication and biological imaging.
