Beilstein Talk "Luminescent defects in carbon nanotubes for near-infrared bioimaging"

Beilstein Talks

The Beilstein Talks are an established addition to the Beilstein-Institut’s projects supporting communication and information in science. These online talks are free to attend; a simple registration is all that is required.

Luminescent defects in carbon nanotubes for near-infrared bioimaging

Jana Zaumseil / Heidelberg University
November 5, 2026, 3–4 pm CEST

Online live talk

👉 Go to the free registration for the online live talk!

Introduction

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) can be viewed as rolled-up sheets of graphene, where the precise roll-up angle and diameter determine the optical and electronic properties of the resulting quasi-1D (semi)conductor. Advanced nanotube growth methods and modern dispersion and sorting techniques provide access to large amounts of purely semiconducting and even single-chirality SWCNTs with specific diameters and bandgaps that can be integrated into (opto-)electronic devices and optical sensors with outstanding performance. In addition to high charge carrier mobilities, SWCNTs show diameter-dependent photoluminescence (PL) with narrow linewidth in the second biological and telecommunication windows (1000–1600 nm). The covalent functionalization of SWCNTs with luminescent quantum defects leads to even further red-shifted emission and higher PL quantum yields. These luminescent defects transform sorted and functionalized SWCNTs into a very promising material for next-generation in vivo imaging, optical metabolite sensing, and single-photon emission.

I will introduce the unique optical properties of semiconducting SWCNTs and quantum defects, then explore the chemical strategies for creating and tuning luminescent defects for optical sensing of biomolecules and super-resolution bioimaging.

👉 Go to the free registration for the online live talk!