Superconductivity in entirely end-bonded multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Feb 10;96(5):057001. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.057001. Epub 2006 Feb 10.

Abstract

We report that entirely end-bonded multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) can exhibit superconductivity with a transition temperature (T(c)) as high as 12 K, which is approximately 30 times greater than T(c) reported for ropes of single-walled nanotubes. We find that the emergence of this superconductivity is highly sensitive to the junction structures of the Au electrode/MWNTs. This reveals that only MWNTs with optimal numbers of electrically activated shells, which are realized by end bonding, can allow superconductivity due to intershell effects.