Covalent functionalization of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be valuable for modifying their electronic properties and creating fluorescent quantum defects. We report here a previously unreported category of such reactions involving interactions of photoexcited aromatic compounds with SWCNT sidewalls. When aqueous suspensions of SWCNTs are exposed to organic aromatic compounds and then irradiated by UV light, fluorescent defects are formed in the nanotubes at rates that depend on the aromatic ring substituents. In reactions with aniline or iodoaniline, strong spectral sidebands appear within 1 min. Total SWCNT photoluminescence can be enhanced by a factor as large as ∼5. Notably, emission spectra of reacted SWCNTs depend on the presence or absence of dissolved oxygen during the reaction. For (6,5) SWCNTs, treatment when oxygen is present gives an additional emission band red-shifted by 160 meV from the pristine position, whereas treatment without oxygen leads to two additional emission bands red-shifted by 140 and 270 meV. Variance spectroscopy shows the presence of individual "multicolor" nanotubes with three distinct emission bands (pristine plus two shifted). The facile generation of dual fluorescent quantum defects in SWCNTs provides emission closer to standard telecom wavelengths, advancing the prospects for applications as single-photon sources in quantum information processing.

中文翻译：

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光激发的芳族反应物使量子缺陷产生多色碳纳米管荧光。

单壁碳纳米管（SWCNT）的共价官能化对于修改其电子性能和产生荧光量子缺陷可能很有价值。我们在这里报告了以前未报道的此类反应的类别，涉及光激发芳族化合物与SWCNT侧壁的相互作用。当SWCNT的水悬浮液暴露于有机芳族化合物然后被紫外线照射时，纳米管中的荧光缺陷会以取决于芳环取代基的速率形成。在与苯胺或碘代苯胺的反应中，强光谱边带在1分钟内出现。总的SWCNT光致发光强度可提高约5倍。值得注意的是，已反应的SWCNT的发射光谱取决于反应过程中溶解氧的存在与否。对于（6,5）SWCNT，当存在氧气时进行的处理会产生一个从原始位置红移了160 meV的附加发射带，而在没有氧气的情况下进行处理会导致两个附加的发射带分别在140和270 meV处发生红移。方差光谱法显示具有三个不同发射带（原始加两个偏移的）的单个“多色”纳米管的存在。在SWCNT中轻松生成双荧光量子缺陷可提供接近标准电信波长的发射，从而为在量子信息处理中作为单光子源应用提供了前景。