We present a realization of carbon nanotube alignment. Surface acoustic waves are applied to a multiwalled carbon nanotube suspension and the lateral piezoelectric field of the standing wave aligns the carbon nanotubes with an angle of 25° to 45° on LiNbO3 with respect to the direction of wave propagation. This angle results from a superposition of the aligning electric field and a perpendicular fluidic flux in the carbon nanotube suspension caused by the energy transfer from the surface acoustic wave into the liquid. On LiTaO3, the multiwalled carbon nanotubes align parallel to the wave vector due to negligible fluidic processes.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were functionalized with biotin at the ends and sidewalls of the nanotubes in a series of chemical reactions. Streptavidin-coated gold nanoparticles were attached to the biotin-modified SWNTs in solution in a self-assembly process. Gold nanoparticles which connected two SWNTs were selected and contacted for transport measurements. At low temperatures, Coulomb blockade oscillations were observed as a function of gate voltage. The size of the nanoparticles can be enlarged by catalytic deposition of gold leading to current increase through the SWNT–nanoparticle–SWNT junction.

A monolayer sandwich. Electron‐transport measurements were carried out in self‐assembled monolayers of 1,4‐phenylene diisocyanide using two different approaches; in one of the approaches, a single monolayer was sandwiched between two small gold contacts by use of nanolithographical and evaporation techniques (see picture). Conductance measurements at low temperature show discrete structures for both types of samples which are interpreted as arising from quantum transport through molecular ensembles.

The valence-band photoemission of the Rh(100)-c(2ϫ2)-O, Rh(100)-(2ϫ2)p4g-O, and Rh(100)-c(2ϫ2)-S surfaces has been investigated using an incident photon energy of 38 eV, along both the ⌫XЈ and ⌫M Ј directions. Local density of states calculations have also been performed for the c(2ϫ2)-O and c(2 ϫ2)-S phases using density-functional theory. For each surface overlayer the angle-resolved photoemission measurements show significant differences in the dispersion of features with binding energies between 3 and 6 eV. These peaks are assigned with reference to the density of states calculations, and the origins of the differences in dispersion are discussed in relation to the different geometric structures.