Can the Sidewalls of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Be Ozonized?

Abstract

Ozonization of the sidewalls of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) has been investigated by means of 2-layered ONIOM(B3LYP/6-31G*:AM1) calculations. The theoretical calculations reveal that the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (1,3-DC) of ozone (O3) onto the sidewalls of a (5,5) carbon nanotube is site-selective and facile with a small activation barrier of 1.4 kcal/mol. The desorption of ozone from the thus-formed ozonide was found to be favorable over the decomposition process that gives rise to epoxy adduct and O2 upon thermal activation. This work implies the possibility of functionalizing the sidewalls of SWNTs by means of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of 1,3-dipolar molecules.