Generalizing thermodynamic properties of bulk single-walled carbon nanotubes

The enthalpy and Gibbs free energy thermodynamical potentials of single walled carbon nanotubes were studied of all types (armchairs, zig-zags, chirals (n>m), and chiral (n<m)). Bulk values of these thermodynamic potentials were obtained using a previously demonstrated robust method based on semi-empirical PM3 calculations and an extrapolated cluster approach. Those values were used to study the relationship between the thermodynamic potentials and the diameter of the nanotube. Results of this study led to the proposal of a single equation for the thermodynamical potential of ΔHAB298 K or ΔGAB298 K (assembly of nanotubes from atoms) versus the chiral vector indexes n and m for any given nanotube. The equations show a good level of accuracy in predicting thermodynamic potentials for practical applications.