Multiwalled carbon nanotubes for flow-induced voltage generation

Recently it has been reported that voltage can be generated by passing fluids over single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) arrays with potential application to flow sensors with a large dynamic range. The present work investigates voltage generation properties of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a function of the relative orientation of the nanotube array with respect to the flow direction, flow velocity, and solution ionic strength. It was found that the flow-induced voltage can be significantly enhanced by aligning the nanotubes along the flow direction, increasing the flow velocity and/or the ionic strength of the flowing liquid. A flow-induced voltage of ∼30mV has been generated from our perpendicularly-aligned MWCNT in an aqueous solution of 1M NaCl at a relatively low flow velocity of 0.0005m∕s, which is 15 times higher than the highest voltage reported for single-walled carbon nanotubes. The results are generally consistent with the pulsating asymmetric ratcheting mechanism proposed for SWCNT...

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