Mixed assembly of ferrocene/porphyrin onto carbon nanotube arrays towards multibit information storage

Abstract

Ruthenium porphyrin functionalised single-walled carbon nanotube arrays have been prepared using coordination of the axial position of the metal ion onto 4-aminopyridine pre-assembled single-walled carbon nanotubes directly anchored to a silicon(100) surface (SWCNTs-Si). The formation of these ruthenium porphyrin functionalised single-walled carbon nanotube array electrodes (RuTPP-SWCNTs-Si) has been monitored using infra-red spectroscopy (IR), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and cyclic voltammetry. Mixed assembly of ferrocene/porphyrin onto carbon nanotube arrays has been achieved by altering the ratio of two redox-active species in the deposition solution. These results suggest these ruthenium porphyrin modified electrodes are excellent candidates for molecular memory devices.