Aligned synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with high purity by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition: Effect of water vapor

Aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with high purity and bulk yield were achieved on a silicon substrate by an aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The introduction of specific amounts of water vapor played a key role in in situ controlling the purity and surface defects of the nanotubes. The morphology, surface quality and structure of MWCNTs were characterized by secondary and backscattered electron imaging in a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Crystallinity and defects of the MWCNTs’ were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Raman spectroscopy. In this work, water vapor was found to provide a weak oxidative environment, which enhanced and purified the MWCNTs’ growth. However, excessive water vapor would inhibit the MWCNTs growth with a poor surface quality. In addition, it has been found that the surface morphology of the CNTs can be modified intentionally through producing some surface defects by tuning the amount of the water vapor, which may offer more nucleation sites on the chemically inert CNT surface for various applications such as catalyst support.     

Field-emission enhancement of molybdenum oxide nanowires with nanoprotrusions

The field-emission properties of molybdenum oxide nanowires grown on a silicon substrate and its emission performance in various vacuum gaps are reported in this article. A new kind of molybdenum oxides named nanowires with nanoscale protrusions on their surfaces were grown by thermal vapor deposition with a length of ~1 μm and an average diameter of ~50 nm. The morphology, structure, composition and chemical states of the prepared nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). According to XRD, XPS, and TEM analyses, the synthesized samples were composed of MoO₂ nanowires formed over a thin layer of crystalline Mo₄O₁₁. TEM observation revealed that these nanowires have some nanoscale protrusion on their surface. These nanoprotrusions resulted in enhancement of field-emission properties of nanowires comprising nanoprotrusions. The turn-on emission field and the enhancement factor of this type of nanostructures were measured 0.2 V/μm and 42991 at the vacuum gap of 300 μm, respectively. These excellent emission properties are attributed to the special structure of the nanowires that have potential for utilizing in vacuum nanoelectronic and microelectronic applications.     

高活性氧化亚铜薄膜材料的绿色合成研究

本文采用一步脉冲雾化化学气相沉积法在250℃下制备了氧化亚铜薄膜催化剂.实验研究了前驱体中掺杂水对氧化铜薄膜表面形貌、拓扑结构、表面成分和光学特性的影响规律.结果表明所制得的催化剂为纯相的氧化亚铜.前驱体溶液中掺杂水会导致氧化亚铜的晶粒变小,从而使得共光学能隙从2.16 eV降至2.04 eV.原子力显微镜结果表明随着水的加入,氧化亚铜的表面粗糙度降低,表面更加均匀.此外,利用密度泛函理论计算得到了水和乙醇在氧化亚铜薄膜表面的吸附和反应特性,并提出了氧化亚铜的形成机理.本文开发了一种低成本且实际可行的薄膜制造方法,该方法在太阳能电池和半导体等领域具有潜在应用.     

类富勒烯纳米晶CNx薄膜及其场致电子发射特性

利用微波等离子体增强化学气相沉积技术制备出了CN_x薄膜,并利用x射线光电子能谱、x射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜和Raman光谱等测试手段对所制备的CN_x薄膜的微结构和成分进行了分析.研究了其场致电子发射特性.发现薄膜的结构和场发射特性与反应系中的甲烷、氮气及氢气的流量比有关,当甲烷、氢气及氮气流量比为8/50/50 sccm时,制备的薄膜具有弯曲层状的纳米石墨晶体结构（类富勒烯结构）和很好的场发射特性.场发射阈值电场降低至1.1V/μm.当电场为5.9V/μm时,平 关键词： 类富勒烯 x薄膜')" href="#">CN_x薄膜 场致电子发射 微波等离子体增强化学气相沉积     

Water vapor adsorption onto activated carbons prepared from cattle manure compost (CMC)

Activated carbons were prepared from cattle manure compost (CMC) using zinc chloride activation. The structural and surface chemical characteristics of CMC-based activated carbons were determined by N₂ adsorption-desorption and Boehm titration, respectively. The water vapor adsorption properties of the prepared activated carbons with various pore structure and surface nature were examined, and the mechanism of water adsorbed onto activated carbon was also discussed. The results show that the adsorption of water vapor on carbons begins at specific active sites at low relative humidity (RH), followed by micropore filling at medium RH through the formation of pentamer cluster of water molecules in the narrow micropores. The water vapor adsorption capacity of activated carbon is predominantly dependent on its pore volume and surface area. Although capillary condensation is not the mechanism for water adsorption onto activated carbon, water can adsorb on narrow mesopore to some extent.     

Synthesis, field emission and glucose-sensing characteristics of nanostructural ZnO on free-standing carbon nanotubes films

Free-standing multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) films were coated, using chemical vapor deposition method, with a thin layer of nanostructural ZnO. The morphology and crystal structure of the as-grown products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman scattering analyses. Field emission (FE) results demonstrated that the needle-like and spherical ZnO-MWNTs composite structure films possessed good performance with a turn-on field of 1.3, 2.2 V μm⁻¹ and a threshold field of 2.6, 4.5 V μm⁻¹, respectively. The glucose-sensing characteristic has also been studied. The multi-layer electrode (PDDA/GOx/ZnO/MWNTs) exhibited significant electrocatalysis to the oxidation and reduction of H₂O₂ than the PDDA/GOx/MWNTs electrode, which provided wide potential applications in clinical, environmental, and food analysis.     

Uniform arrays of carbon nanotubes applied in the field emission devices

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs)were grown into anodic aluminum oxide(AAO)channels by chemical vapor deposition(CVD)using C2H2/N2mixtures as feeding gas,which can be used as field emitters.The bottom surface of AAO template was etched slightly and the tips of CNTs were explored as the field emission arrays which were uniform and vertical.Field emission characterization showed a low turn-on field about 3.25 V/m and high emission current about 30 mA/cm2with the electric field about 4 V/m.These superior field emission characteristics could be attributed to low density of vertical CNTs and higher conductivity of the substrate.     

Preparation and properties of ZnS superhydrophobic surface with hierarchical structure

A novel ZnS hierarchical structure composed of nanorod arrays with branched nanosheets and nanowires grown on their upside walls, was synthesized over Au-coated silicon substrate via chemical vapor deposition technique. Contact angle and sliding angle of this hierarchical film with no surface modification were measured to be about 153.8° and 9.1° for 5 μl water droplets. Self-cleaning behavior and dynamic water-repelling performance were clearly demonstrated. In addition, electrowetting transition phenomenon from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic state happened when a critical bias ∼7.0 V was applied. Below this threshold voltage, the contact angle change is little. This work for the first time reports the creation of ZnS superhydrophobic surface and could enrich its research field as surface functional materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of LaB6 thin films on tungsten, rhenium, silicon and other substrates and their investigations as?field emitters

The paper deals with the comparative study of nanocrystalline Lanthanum hexaboride (LaB₆) thin films grown on various substrates by Pulsed laser deposition and Arc plasma method. Field emission studies were carried out on LaB₆ films deposited on various substrates show metallic behavior of the emitters. The high value of field enhancement factors, indicating that the electron emission from LaB₆ nanoscale protrusions deposited on emitter surface. The post field emission surface morphology of the emitters showed no significant erosion of the films during continuous operation. The observed behavior indicates that it is linked with the growth of LaB₆ films on substrate crystal structure. The LaB₆ nanocrystallites/nanowires films were synthesized using arc plasma method shows good emission current stability. The LaB₆ micro/nanocrystallites were also obtained by picosecond laser irradiation which gives high enhancement β factor, and good emission current stability along with high current density. The results reveal that nanocrystalline LaB₆ films, exhibit high resistance to ion bombardment and excellent structural stability and are more promising emitters for practical applications in field emission based new generation devices.     

Synthesis of carbon nanotubes on diamond-like carbon by the hot filament plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted considerable attention as possible routes to device miniaturization due to their excellent mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties. These properties show great potential for devices such as field emission displays, transistors, and sensors. The growth of CNTs can be explained by interaction between small carbon patches and the metal catalyst. The metals such as nickel, cobalt, gold, iron, platinum, and palladium are used as the catalysts for the CNT growth. In this study, diamond-like carbon (DLC) was used for CNT growth as a nonmetallic catalyst layer. DLC films were deposited by a radio frequency (RF) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) method with a mixture of methane and hydrogen gases. CNTs were synthesized by a hot filament plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD) method with ammonia (NH₃) as a pretreatment gas and acetylene (C₂H₂) as a carbon source gas. The grown CNTs and the pretreated DLC films were observed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) measurement, and the structure of the grown CNTs was analyzed by high resolution transmission scanning electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Also, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) measurement, we confirmed that only the carbon component remained on the substrate.     

Stable electron field emission from carbon nanotubes emitter transferred on graphene films

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) arrays grown by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) method was transferred onto the substrate covered with graphene layer obtained by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technology. The graphene buffer layer provides good electrical and thermal contact to the CNTs. The field emission characteristics of this hybrid structure were investigated in this study. Compared with the CNTs arrays directly grown on the silicon substrate, the hybrid emitter shows better field emission performance, such as high emission current and long-term emission stability. The presence of this graphene layer was shown to improve the field emission behavior of CNTs. This work provides an effective way to realize stable field emission from CNTs emitter and similar hybrid structures.     

Control of wettability of hydrogenated amorphous carbon thin films by laser-assisted micro- and nanostructuring

A flexible and rapid surface functionalization of amorphous carbon films shows a great potential for various application fields such as biological surfaces and tribological systems. For this purpose, the combination of thin film deposition and subsequent laser material processing was investigated. Amorphous carbon layers doped with hydrogen were deposited on silicon wafers by reactive direct-current magnetron sputtering. Films with three different hydrogen contents were synthesized. Subsequent to the thin film deposition process, UV laser material processing at wavelengths of 193 nm or 248 nm was performed with respect to chemical surface modification and surface structuring on micro- and nanometer scale. Depending on structure size and laser-induced chemical surface modification the adjustment of the surface energy and wetting behaviour in a broad range from hydrophobic to hydrophilic was possible. The chemical modification and the ablation mechanisms near the ablation threshold were strongly influenced by the hydrogen content in amorphous carbon thin films.Structural and chemical information of the as-deposited and modified films was obtained by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements.     

Electron field emission from boron doped microcrystalline diamond

Field emission properties of hot filament chemical vapor deposited boron doped polycrystalline diamond have been studied. Doping level (N_B) of different samples has been varied by the B/C concentration in the gas feed during the growth process and doping saturation has been observed for high B/C ratios. Threshold field (E_th) for electron emission as function of B/C concentration has been measured, and the influences of grain boundaries, doping level and surface morphology on field emission properties have been investigated. Carrier transport through conductive grains and local emission properties of surface sites have been figured out to be two independent limiting effects in respect of field emission. Emitter current densities of 500 nA cm⁻² were obtained using electric fields less than 8 V/μm.     

Effect of complexing agent on the properties of electrochemically deposited Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films

The Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) thin films have been electrochemically deposited on Mo-coated glass substrate from weak acidic medium (pH 4.5-5) at room temperature. The effect of complexing agent (tri-sodium citrate) on the structural, morphological and compositional properties of CZTS thin films has been investigated. The as-deposited and annealed thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM),EDAX and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques for their structural, morphological, compositional and chemical properties, respectively. XRD studies reveal that the amorphous nature of as-deposited thin film changes into polycrystalline with kesterite crystal structure after annealing in Ar atmosphere. The film prepared without complexing agent showed well-covered surface morphology on the substrate with some cracks on the surface of the film whereas those prepared using complexing agent, exhibited uneven and slightly porous and some overgrown particles on the surface of the films. After annealing, morphology changes into the flat grains, uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the substrate. The EDAX and XPS study reveals that the films deposited using 0.2 M tri-sodium citrate are nearly stoichiometric.     

Water vapor: An extraordinary terahertz wave source under optical excitation

In modern terahertz (THz) sensing and imaging spectroscopy, water is considered a nemesis to be avoided due to strong absorption in the THz frequency range. Here we report the first experimental demonstration and theoretical implications of using femtosecond laser pulses to generate intense broadband THz emission from water vapor. When we focused an intense laser pulse in water vapor contained in a gas cell or injected from a gas jet nozzle, an extraordinarily strong THz field from optically excited water vapor is observed. Water vapor has more than 50% greater THz generation efficiency than dry nitrogen. It had previously been assumed that the nonlinear generation of THz waves in this manner primarily involves a free-electron plasma, but we show that the molecular structure plays an essential role in the process. In particular, we found that THz wave generation from H₂O vapor is significantly stronger than that from D₂O vapor. Vibronic activities of water cluster ions, occurring naturally in water vapor, may possibly contribute to the observed isotope effect along with rovibrational contributions from the predominant monomers.     

Nanomechanical characterization of amorphous hydrogenated carbon thin films

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) thin films deposited on a silicon substrate under various mixtures of methane-hydrogen gas by electron cyclotron resonance microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (ECR-MPCVD) was investigated. Microstructure, surface morphology and mechanical characterizations of the a-C:H films were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nanoindentation technique, respectively. The results indicated there was an increase of the hydrogen content, the ratio of the D-peak to the G-peak (I_D/I_G) increased but the surface roughness of the films was reduced. Both hardness and Young's modulus increased as the hydrogen content was increased. In addition, the contact stress-strain analysis is reported. The results confirmed that the mechanical properties of the amorphous hydrogenated carbon thin films improved using a higher H₂ content in the source gas.     

Precise Design of Surface Nano-texture and Surface Chemistry of Polymeric Solids

Surface properties of polymeric materials were controlled by fabrication of nano-structure and submicronorder structure of poly(fluoroalkyl acrylate) using the chemical and physical surface modification techniques. The relationship between the ordered structure of fluoroalkyl (R _f) groups and water repellency mechanism was precisely investigated by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, water contact angle measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was revealed that poly{2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl acrylate} (PFA-C₈) was crystallized and formed ordered structure to result in high water repellency. Surface nano-texturing onto PFA-C₈ film surface was carried out using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as a mold. The nano-texture of AAO mold with a pore diameter of 200 nm was transformed onto the PFA-C₈ film surface to fabricate nano-structure, which revealed high water and oil repellency. On the other hand, various types of monomers were grafted on the solid surface through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization to result in high-density polymer brushes. Hydrophobic PFA-C₈brush surface revealed a low friction coefficient and a good wear resistance. Water lubrication and low friction were observed on the hydrophilic polymer brush. These polymer brushes were successfully introduced on the commercial fluoropolymer, which has inherent radical initiator functional groups. These results indicated that nano-layer immobilization through surface-initiated polymerization and surface texturing are promising methods to control the surface chemistry and surface structure at dimensions in the nano-meter range.     

金刚石镶嵌非晶碳膜表面形貌对场致电子发射的影响

用微波等离子体化学气相沉积设备，在经过不同研磨预处理的金属钼衬底上沉积出了表面形貌有较大差异的金刚石镶嵌非晶碳膜，分别用扫描电子显微镜（ＳＥＭ）、金相显微镜和Ｘ射线衍射谱（ＸＲＤ）以及Ｒａｍａｎ光谱对样品进行了分析测试．研究了各样品的场致电子发射特性，结果发现薄膜表面由大量镶嵌有金刚石小晶粒的非晶碳球组成，在我们的实验范围内，薄膜表面非晶碳球尺寸越小，场致电子发射效果越好     

Wavelet analysis of the surface morphologic of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films

Surface morphologies of nanocrystalline TiO₂ thin films were studied by analyzing the surface profile of AFM images using wavelet transform method. Based on characterizing the fractal feature and computing the image details at different orientations and resolutions, the surface textures of nanocrystalline TiO₂ thin films before and after chemical treatment were examined. The results reveal that titanium isopropoxide treatment leads to an increase of surface roughness. The related mechanism of modification of the microstructure by chemical treatment associated with the improvement of the photocurrent response is discussed.     

Enhanced field emission characteristics of boron doped diamond films grown by microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition

Boron doped diamond films were synthesized on silicon substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) technique. The effect of B₂O₃ concentration varied from 1000 to 5000 ppm on the field emission characteristics was examined. The surface morphology and quality of films were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The surface morphology obtained by SEM showed variation from facetted microcrystal covered with nanometric grains to cauliflower of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) particles with increasing B₂O₃ concentration. The Raman spectra confirm the formation of NCD films. The field emission properties of NCD films were observed to improve upon increasing boron concentration. The values of the onset field and threshold field are observed to be as low as 0.36 and 0.08 V/μm, respectively. The field emission current stability investigated at the preset value of ∼1 μA is observed to be good, in each case. The enhanced field emission properties are attributed to the better electrical conductivity coupled with the nanometric features of the diamond films.