Determination of chiralities of single-walled carbon nanotubes by neutron powder diffraction technique

Abstract The radial distribution function (RDF) of different single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) has been calculated showing characteristic patterns. Features related to diameter, chirality and doping in these nanostructures are analyzed. We also investigate the induced chirality of two samples, prepared with the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method and the high-pressure Co conversion (HIPCo) procedure, respectively, by comparing the experimental RDF signal obtained from the neutron scattering technique with the RDFs of our simulations. We found armchair and zigzag nanotubes in the sample, but we cannot discard the presence of other chiralities. We believe that this is a useful method to study chiralities induced by different methods of production. Data up to Q  = 30 A − 1 were used in the Fourier transform, giving a high real space resolution of Δ r  ∼ 0.2 A.