Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
Nanotechnology. 2010 Sep 24;21(38):385304. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/21/38/385304. Epub 2010 Aug 27.
Scanning probe imaging and manipulation of matter is of crucial importance for nanoscale science and technology. However, its resolution and ability to manipulate matter at the atomic scale is limited by rather poor control over the fine structure of the probe. In the present paper, a strategy is proposed to construct a molecular nanomanipulator from ultrathin single-walled carbon nanotubes. Covalent modification of a nanotube cap at predetermined atomic sites makes the nanotube act as a support for a functional 'tooltip' molecule. Then, a small bundle of nanotubes (three or four) with aligned ends can act as an extremely high aspect ratio parallel nanomanipulator for a suspended molecule, where protraction or retraction of individual nanotubes results in controlled tilting of the tooltip in two dimensions. Together with the usual scanning probe microscopy three degrees of freedom and augmented with rotation of the system as a whole, the design offers six degrees of freedom for imaging and manipulation of matter with the precision and freedom so much needed for advanced nanotechnology. A similar design might be possible to implement with other high aspect ratio nanostructures, such as oxide nanowires.
扫描探针成像和操控物质对于纳米科学和技术至关重要。然而，其在原子尺度上的分辨率和操控物质的能力受到探针精细结构控制能力较差的限制。本文提出了一种策略，即从超薄单壁碳纳米管构建分子纳米操作器。在预定的原子位置对纳米管帽进行共价修饰，使纳米管充当功能“工具提示”分子的支撑物。然后，一小束（三四个）对齐末端的纳米管可以作为一个非常高纵横比的平行纳米操作器来操纵一个悬浮分子，其中单个纳米管的伸出或缩回导致工具提示在二维中的受控倾斜。与通常的扫描探针显微镜的三个自由度一起，并增加整个系统的旋转，该设计为具有先进纳米技术所需的精度和自由度的物质成像和操控提供了六个自由度。类似的设计可能可以用其他高纵横比的纳米结构，如氧化物纳米线来实现。
