Recent work done by Marcus Lay and his research group that was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (article) has been highlighted on Phys.org, a leading web-based science, research and technology news service which covers a full range of topics. The research involved single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and their use as semiconductors. When grown in bulk, only two-thirds of the SWNTs show semiconducting properties. The other third show metallic characteristics. When used as transistors, the metallic SWNTs allow current leakage when in the off state. Lay's group demonstrated that by decorating the metallic SWNTs with copper oxide they become semiconducting SWNTs. These new transistors show a 205-fold increase in on/off current ratio over the untreated SWNTs.
