Encapsulation of Carotenoids in Single-wall Carbon Nanotubes and their Optical Properties

Abstract

Carotenoids are encapsulated inside single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Their structure and optical properties in SWCNTs are clarified by Raman, optical absorption spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction profiles. Degradation of carotenoids is a bottleneck impeding their device application but we revealed that the stability of carotenoids is highly improved by encapsulation into SWCNTs. Moreover they do exhibit a light- harvesting function inside SWCNTs. These novel findings will open the door for the fine-tuning, via the encapsulation of various molecules, of the optical properties of SWCNTs for numerous optoelectronic applications.