US Patent 7253431 - Carbon nanotube doping using one electron oxidant

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7253431.html

Depending on their chirality single walled nanotubes have intrinsic semiconductor properties however extrinsic doping using O2, NO2, Br2, and I2 (electron acceptors) and K, Cs, NH3 (electron donors) have also been reported in the literature. This patent from IBM teaches using what they refer to as "one-electron oxidants" which is taught in the specification to include itrialkyloxonium hexachlroantimonate, antimony pentachloride, nitrosonium salts, tris-(pentafluorophenyl) borane or nitrosonium cation to provide more reliable preparation of extrinsically doped nanotubes for FETs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for doping a carbon nanotube comprising: exposing the carbon nanotube to a one-electron oxidant in a solution, such that one electron is transferred from the carbon nanotube to each molecule of the one-electron oxidant.