ABSTRACT
Carbon nanotubes and bismuth nanowires are both model systems for describing the onedimensional properties of nanotubes and nanowires and will be discussed in this context in this chapter. For the case of carbon nanotubes, their one-dimensional aspects are best seen when they are prepared as single-wall carbon nanotubes (cylinders with walls one carbon atom in thickness) with approximately 1-nm diameters and lengths typically of about 10 µm. Their one-dimensional (1-D) properties are best exemplified in their 1-D electronic density of states (DOS), because their special physical properties are closely connected with their unique 1-D electronic DOS. The special properties associated with bismuth nanowires are closely connected to their unique semimetal-to-semiconducting transition, which occurs at approximately 50-nm wire diameter, making available the special properties of bismuth in the form of a semiconductor with highly anisotropic constant energy surfaces, effective mass components, and physical properties. This chapter focuses on the preparation and characterization of these materials.
