Sci-Bytes> Hot Paper in Chemistry
Week of May 1, 2011
"Longitudinal unzipping of carbon nanotubes to form graphene nanoribbons," by Dmitry V. Kosynkin and 6 others, Nature, 458(7240): 872-6, 16 April 2009.
[Authors' affiliation: Rice University, Houston, TX]
Abstract: "Graphene, or single-layered graphite, with its high crystallinity and interesting semimetal electronic properties, has emerged as an exciting two-dimensional material showing great promise for the fabrication of nanoscale devices. Thin, elongated strips of graphene that possess straight edges, termed graphene ribbons, gradually transform from semiconductors to semimetals as their width increases, and represent a particularly versatile variety of graphene. Several lithographic, chemical and synthetic procedures are known to produce microscopic samples of graphene nanoribbons, and one chemical vapour deposition process has successfully produced macroscopic quantities of nanoribbons at 950 degrees C. Here we describe a simple solution-based oxidative process for producing a nearly 100% yield of nanoribbon structures by lengthwise cutting and unravelling of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) side walls. Although oxidative shortening of MWCNTs has previously been achieved, lengthwise cutting is hitherto unreported. Ribbon structures with high water solubility are obtained. Subsequent chemical reduction of the nanoribbons from MWCNTs results in restoration of electrical conductivity. These early results affording nanoribbons could eventually lead to applications in fields of electronics and composite materials where bulk quantities of nanoribbons are required."
This 2009 report from Nature was cited 30 times in current journal articles indexed by Clarivate during January-February 2011. During that two-month period, only one other chemistry paper published in the last two years, aside from reviews, collected a greater number of citations. Prior to the most recent bimonthly count, citations to the paper have accrued as follows:
November-December 2010: 26 citations
September-October 2010: 28
July-August 2010: 25
May-June 2010: 26
March-April 2010: 31
January-February 2010: 16
November-December 2009: 24
September-October 2009: 15
July-August 2009: 5
March-April 2009: 1
Total citations to date: 227
SOURCE: Hot Papers Database (Included with a subscription to the print newsletter Science Watch®, available from the Research Services Group of Thomson Reuters. Packaged on a CD that is mailed with each Science Watch issue, the Hot Papers Database contains data on hundreds of highly cited papers published during the last two years. User interface permits searching by author, organization, journal, field, and more. Total citations, as well as citations accrued during successive bimonthly periods, can be assessed and graphed.
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