Arc synthesis of double-walled carbon nanotubes in low pressure air and their superior field emission properties

Abstract Double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) have been effectively synthesized by direct current (DC) arc discharge in low pressure air using a mixture of Fe catalyst and FeS promoter. Compared with conventional arc methods, this method is easier to implement without using expensive high purity gas sources. A tip structural DWCNT film has been successfully fabricated by a mixing process of electrophoresis, electroplating and electrocorrosion. The field emission properties of tip structural nanotube film are significantly increased compared with DWCNT film fabricated by electrophoresis. The turn-on electric field Eto decreases from 1.25 to 0.92 V/μm, the low threshold electric field Eth decreases from 1.45 to 1.13 V/μm, and the field enhancement factor β increases from about 2210 to 4450. Meanwhile, this tip structural CNT film shows remarkably stable within 2% fluctuations for several hours. The high-performance emitter material and preparation technologies are both easy to scale up to large areas.

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