Ultrafast exciton energy transfer between nanoscale coaxial cylinders: intertube transfer and luminescence quenching in double-walled carbon nanotubes.

We study exciton energy transfer in double-walled carbon nanotubes using femtosecond time-resolved luminescence measurements. From direct correspondence between decay of the innertube luminescence and the rise behavior in outertube luminescence, it is found that the time constant of exciton energy transfer from the inner to the outer semiconducting tubes is ∼150 fs. This ultrafast transfer indicates that the relative intensity of steady-state luminescence from the innertubes is ∼700 times weaker than that from single-walled carbon nanotubes.