A nanowire comprising only metal having an average length of 1 .mu.m or more which could not be produced in the prior art, and a method of manufacturing this wire. This invention provides a method of manufacturing a metal nanowire, which comprises the step of reducing a nanofiber comprising a metal complex peptide lipid formed from the two-headed peptide lipid represented by the general formula (I): ##STR1## in which Val is a valine residue, m is 1-3 and n is 6-18, and a metal ion, using 5-10 equivalents of a reducing agent relative to the two-headed peptide lipid. It further provides a metal nanowire having an average diameter of 10-20 nm and average length of 1 .mu.m or more. It is preferred that the metal is copper.
A method for functionalizing the wall of single-wall or multi-wall carbon nanotubes involves the use of acyl peroxides to generate carbon-centered free radicals. The method allows for the chemical attachment of a variety of functional groups to the wall or end cap of carbon nanotubes through covalent carbon bonds without destroying the wall or endcap structure of the nanotube. Carbon-centered radicals generated from acyl peroxides can have terminal functional groups that provide sites for further reaction with other compounds. Organic groups with terminal carboxylic acid functionality can be converted to an acyl chloride and further reacted with an amine to form an amide or with a diamine to form an amide with terminal amine. The reactive functional groups attached to the nanotubes provide improved solvent dispersibility and provide reaction sites for monomers for incorporation in polymer structures. The nanotubes can also be functionalized by generating free radicals from organic sulfoxides.
A composition comprising a material at least partially enclosed by a tubular, spherical or planar nanostructure composed of a plurality of peptides, wherein each of the plurality of peptides includes no more than 4 amino acids and whereas at least one of the 4 amino acids is an aromatic amino acid.
A tubular or spherical nanostructure composed of a plurality of peptides, wherein each of the plurality of peptides includes no more than 4 amino acids and whereas at least one of the 4 amino acids is an aromatic amino acid.
