Are fullerene tubules metallic?

Abstract

We have calculated the electronic structure of a fullerene tubule using a first-principles, self-consistent, all-electron Gaussian-orbital based local-density-functional approach. Extending these results to a model containing an electron-lattice interaction, we estimate that the mean-field transition temperature from a Peierls-distorted regime to a high-temperature metallic regime should be well below room temperature. Such fullerene tubules should have the advantages (compared to the other conjugated carbon systems) of a carrier density similar to that of metals and zero band gap at room temperature.