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Encapsulation and Polymerization of White Phosphorus Inside Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes
Author(s) -
Hart Martin,
White Edward R.,
Chen Ji,
McGilvery Catriona M.,
Pickard Chris J.,
Michaelides Angelos,
Sella Andrea,
Shaffer Milo S. P.,
Salzmann Christoph G.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201703585
Subject(s) - nanoreactor , white phosphorus , carbon nanotube , transmission electron microscopy , polymerization , exothermic reaction , materials science , chemical engineering , molecule , phosphorus , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer , nanoparticle , composite material , engineering
Elemental phosphorus displays an impressive number of allotropes with highly diverse chemical and physical properties. White phosphorus has now been filled into single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from the liquid and thereby stabilized against the highly exothermic reaction with atmospheric oxygen. The encapsulated tetraphosphorus molecules were visualized with transmission electron microscopy, but found to convert readily into chain structures inside the SWCNT “nanoreactors”. The energies of the possible chain structures were determined computationally, highlighting a delicate balance between the extent of polymerization and the SWCNT diameter. Experimentally, a single‐stranded zig‐zag chain of phosphorus atoms was observed, which is the lowest energy structure at small confinement diameters. These one‐dimensional chains provide a glimpse into the very first steps of the transformation from white to red phosphorus.