Temperature-dependent resistivity of single-wall carbon nanotubes

– Samples of single-wall carbon nanotubes containing tubes with an “armchair” wrapping have been produced and exhibit metallic behavior with an intrinsic resistivity which increases approximately linearly with temperature over a wide temperature range. Here we study the coupling of the conduction electrons to long-wavelength torsional shape fluctuations, or twistons. A one-dimensional theory of the scattering of electrons by twistons is presented which predicts an intrinsic resistivity proportional to the absolute temperature. Experimental measurements of the temperature dependence of the resistivity are reported and compared with the predictions of the twiston theory. Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1993 [1], [2] there has been interest in these structures as prototypical molecular wires. Research in this direction has been given additional impetus by the recent discovery of a new catalytic route to the synthesis of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) [3]. In this process the tubes self-organize during deposition in a twodimensional triangular lattice forming ropes (bundles of tubes), and ultimately mats (threedimensional samples of entangled ropes). Transmission electron microscopy indicates that up to 40% of the nanotubes have the [10, 10] “armchair” wrapping, which is predicted by band theory to be metallic. Indeed, metallic behavior has been observed in unoriented bulk samples as well as individual ropes [3], [4]. A thorough understanding to the electronic properties of the nanotubes is thus essential. In this letter we study the intrinsic scattering processes responsible for the electrical resistivity in nanotubes. Remarkably, we find that the coupling of the low-energy electronic states to thermal shape fluctuations of the tubes leads to a resistivity which scales linearly