Oscillating one-dimensional chains The confinement of materials to nanoscale dimensions often reveals properties not seen in bulk materials. Pham et al. confined NbSe3 within carbon nanotubes (a conductor) or boron nitride nanotubes (an insulator). Transmission electron microscopy revealed an oscillatory motion of the confined chains not observed in bulk crystals. Electronic structure calculations showed that charge transfer drives the torsional wave instability, and the limited covalent bonding between the chains and the nanotube sheath allows unhindered dynamics. Application of an external potential applied to the nanotube should directly affect the torsion and thus lead to different optical and electron transport properties. Science, this issue p. 263 Quasi–one-dimensional chains of NbSe3 exhibit static and dynamic structural torsional waves not found in bulk crystals. The scientific bounty resulting from the successful isolation of few to single layers of two-dimensional materials suggests that related new physics resides in the few- to single-chain limit of one-dimensional materials. We report the synthesis of the quasi–one-dimensional transition metal trichalcogenide NbSe3 (niobium triselenide) in the few-chain limit, including the realization of isolated single chains. The chains are encapsulated in protective boron nitride or carbon nanotube sheaths to prevent oxidation and to facilitate characterization. Transmission electron microscopy reveals static and dynamic structural torsional waves not found in bulk NbSe3 crystals. Electronic structure calculations indicate that charge transfer drives the torsional wave instability. Very little covalent bonding is found between the chains and the nanotube sheath, leading to relatively unhindered longitudinal and torsional dynamics for the encapsulated chains.

中文翻译：

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过渡金属三硫属化物单链极限的扭转不稳定性

振荡的一维链材料对纳米级尺寸的限制通常会揭示在散装材料中看不到的特性。范等人。将 NbSe3 限制在碳纳米管（导体）或氮化硼纳米管（绝缘体）内。透射电子显微镜揭示了在块状晶体中未观察到的受限链的振荡运动。电子结构计算表明，电荷转移驱动了扭转波的不稳定性，链和纳米管鞘之间有限的共价键允许不受阻碍的动力学。施加到纳米管的外部电位应直接影响扭转，从而导致不同的光学和电子传输特性。科学，这个问题 p。263 NbSe3 准一维链表现出在块状晶体中未发现的静态和动态结构扭转波。成功地将少量到单层二维材料隔离所带来的科学奖励表明，相关的新物理学存在于一维材料的少数到单链限制中。我们报告了在少链极限下准一维过渡金属三硫族化合物 NbSe3（三硒化铌）的合成，包括孤立单链的实现。这些链被封装在保护性氮化硼或碳纳米管护套中，以防止氧化并促进表征。透射电子显微镜揭示了在块状 NbSe3 晶体中未发现的静态和动态结构扭转波。电子结构计算表明电荷转移驱动扭波不稳定性。在链和纳米管鞘之间发现很少的共价键合，导致封装链的纵向和扭转动力学相对不受阻碍。