TY - JOUR
T1 - Near-infrared Fourier transform photoluminescence spectrometer with tunable excitation for the study of single-walled carbon nanotubes
AU - McDonald, Timothy J.
AU - Jones, Marcus
AU - Engtrakul, Chaiwat
AU - Ellingson, Randy J.
AU - Rumbles, Garry
AU - Heben, Michael J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Jeffrey Blackburn and Anne Dillon for helpful discussions. This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Photochemistry Program within the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences.
PY - 2006/5
Y1 - 2006/5
N2 - A fast, sensitive, automated Fourier transform (FT) photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer with tunable excitation has been developed for analyzing carbon nanotube suspensions over a wide spectral range. A commercially available spectrometer was modified by the addition of a tunable excitation source, custom collection optics, and computer software to provide control and automated data collection. The apparatus enables excitation from 400 to 1100 nm and detection from 825 to 1700 nm, permitting the analysis of virtually all semiconducting single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs), including those produced by the high pressure carbon monoxide conversion and laser processes. The FT approach provides an excellent combination of high sensitivity and fast measurement. The speed advantage exists because the entire emission spectrum is collected simultaneously, while the sensitivity advantage stems from the high optical throughput. The high sensitivity is demonstrated in the measurement of very dilute SWNT suspensions and the observation of novel spectral features, and the speed is demonstrated by measuring the real-time changes in the SWNT PL during rebundling. This contribution describes the assembly of components, the methods for automating data collection, and the procedures for correcting the wavelength-dependent excitation intensity and the interferometer and detector responses.
AB - A fast, sensitive, automated Fourier transform (FT) photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer with tunable excitation has been developed for analyzing carbon nanotube suspensions over a wide spectral range. A commercially available spectrometer was modified by the addition of a tunable excitation source, custom collection optics, and computer software to provide control and automated data collection. The apparatus enables excitation from 400 to 1100 nm and detection from 825 to 1700 nm, permitting the analysis of virtually all semiconducting single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs), including those produced by the high pressure carbon monoxide conversion and laser processes. The FT approach provides an excellent combination of high sensitivity and fast measurement. The speed advantage exists because the entire emission spectrum is collected simultaneously, while the sensitivity advantage stems from the high optical throughput. The high sensitivity is demonstrated in the measurement of very dilute SWNT suspensions and the observation of novel spectral features, and the speed is demonstrated by measuring the real-time changes in the SWNT PL during rebundling. This contribution describes the assembly of components, the methods for automating data collection, and the procedures for correcting the wavelength-dependent excitation intensity and the interferometer and detector responses.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33744783959&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33744783959&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/1.2198748
DO - 10.1063/1.2198748
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33744783959
VL - 77
JO - Review of Scientific Instruments
JF - Review of Scientific Instruments
SN - 0034-6748
IS - 5
M1 - 053104
ER -