Effects of hole doping on selectivity of naphthalene towards single-wall carbon nanotubes

Using first principle calculations, we find that hole doping remarkably enhances adsorption strength of naphthalene on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The enhancement in adsorption strength is more significant for the larger-sized SWNTs, and the adsorption of naphthalene on the larger-sized (10,0) SWNTs becomes stronger than that on the smaller-sized (5,5) SWNTs at a higher doping level. However, the enhancement in adsorption strength appears insensitive to the electronic structure of SWNTs. For similar-sized SWNTs, hole doping does not reverse the selective adsorption of naphthalene towards metallic SWNTs versus their semiconducting counterparts. This is in sharp contrast to NH2CH3 adsorption, where hole doping can reverse the selectivity of NH2CH3 towards metallic SWNTs versus similar-sized semiconducting SWNTs.