New method to produce graphene nanoriboons

Scientists from The University of Nottingham, UK, developed a new self-assembly based method to create sulphur-terminated graphene nanoribbon within a single-walled carbon nanotube. The team have demonstrated that carbon nanotubes can be used as nanoscale chemical reactors and chemical reactions involving carbon and sulphur atoms held within a nanotube lead to the formation of atomically thin strips of carbon, known as graphene nanoribbon, decorated with sulphur atoms around the edge.

These ribbons have some interesting physical properties and they are suitable for applications in electronic and spintronics devices - more so than 'regular' graphene.