Quantum conductance of carbon nanotube peapods

We present a first-principles study of the quantum conductance of hybrid nanotube systems consisting of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) encapsulating either an isolated single C₆₀ molecule or a chain of C₆₀ molecules (nanotube peapods). The calculations show a rather weak bonding interaction between the fullerenes and the SWCNTs. The conductance of a (10,10) SWCNT with a single C₆₀ molecule is virtually unaffected at the Fermi level, but exhibits quantized resonant reductions at the molecular levels. The nanotube peapod arrangement gives rise to high density of states for the fullerene highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital bands.