Synergistic Effect of Field Emission Properties on Growth of CNTs by One-Pot Preparation of Various Concentrations Composite Catalyst
Abstract
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were grown on Silicon (Si) substrate by using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique where iron (Fe) and silver (Ag) colloidal solution act as a catalyst were prepared by chemical route. The as-prepared solutions in varied concentrations were deposited on a Si substrate using a spin coating process at 700rpm. The purpose of Fe in composite catalysts is to have high carbon solubility and diffusion rate, and Ag utilization can change catalyst activity temperature and enhance carbon yields. In this work, we demonstrate the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on different catalyst concentrations (Fe/Ag), (Fe/Ag), (Fe/Ag) and (Fe/Ag) catalytic films. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) was used to image the morphologies of various catalyst concentrations MWCNTs. The natures of the synthesized CNTs were determined using Raman spectroscopy and it was revealed that as-prepared CNTs are MWCNTs due to the absence of radial breathing mode (RBM). Raman spectroscopy demonstrated the lower ID/IG ratio (Ratio of the intensity of D-Raman peak and G-Raman peak) of (Fe/Ag) MWCNTs. The ID/IG ratio for (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs was 0.76, while the ID/IG ratio for (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs was 0.89. The (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs were found to be more defective as compared to other. Electron Emission from (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs were much stronger than from other samples, as demonstrated by Field Emission measurement using diode configuration. The turn-on field for (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs was (0.92 V/m) which is slightly lower than that of (Fe/Ag) catalyzed MWCNTs (1.83 V/m), indicating superior enhancement.
