Strange ‘one-dimensional gas’ created by trapping atoms in a tiny tube

A row of gaseous krypton atoms has been trapped inside a carbon nanotube, allowing researchers to better observe how they interact in a confined space

By Matthew Sparkes

22 January 2024

Single atoms of krypton trapped in buckminsterfullerene cage

University of Nottingham

Krypton atoms can be forced into a “traffic jam” within a carbon nanotube, unable to pass each other, allowing scientists to more easily observe how they interact. Researchers hope this “one-dimensional gas” could shed light on fundamental physical forces.

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Andrei Khlobystov at the University of Nottingham, UK, and his colleagues have spent years investigating chemical reactions inside carbon nanotubes just 1.5 nanometres thick – half a million times smaller than the width of a human hair – as the constricted space limits movement and makes observation easier. They have now developed a method to do the same with atoms of the noble gas krypton, creating what they call a one-dimensional gas.

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The team takes buckminsterfullerene molecules – spherical cages formed of 60 carbon atoms – with a single krypton atom trapped inside. These molecules are then sucked into a carbon nanotube by the van der Waals force, the weak attraction caused by fluctuations in the clouds of electrons surrounding the atomic nucleus. Once full, the tube is heated to 1200°C, breaking down the cages. The carbon atoms are absorbed into the nanotube, leaving a line of krypton atoms.