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The high-strengthening mechanism of carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns subjected to Joule heating was investigated by nanostructural characterization. CNT yarns produced at two drawing speeds (40 and 120 mm/min) with a spindle rotation of 1000 min−1 were used. The mechanical properties of the CNT yarns were improved by Joule heating under a vacuum of 10−6 Pa. The mean tensile strength and Young’s modulus of both yarns heated at 2273 K were approximately 1.1–1.4 GPa and 44–50 GPa, respectively; these values are approximately more than two times those of the as-spun samples. The high-strengthening of the Joule-heated CNT yarns is attributed to the synergistic effect of structural changes such as improvement in the crystallinity of the CNTs, formation of the bundle structure of individual CNTs possessing a polygonal structure, and entwining of these bundles. Meanwhile, the samples in which the high-strengthening mechanism by Joule heating did not initiate, were included in the CNT yarns produced at a drawing speed of 40 mm/min. Cross-sectional observation of the lower-strength CNT yarns revealed the presence of numerous voids in the outer portion of the yarn. The structural defects formed during the spinning of the CNT yarn strongly affected the tensile strength of the yarn.

Modern integrated devices and electrical circuits have often been designed with carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene due to their high thermal and electrical transport properties. These transport properties are strongly correlated to their acoustic phonon and carrier dynamics. Thus, understanding the phonon and carrier dynamics of carbon nanostructures in extremely small regions will lead to their further practical applications. Here, we demonstrate ultrafast time-resolved electron diffraction and ultrafast transient spectroscopy to characterize the phonon and carrier dynamics at the boundary of quasi-one-dimensional CNTs before and after Joule annealing. The results from ultrafast time-resolved electron diffraction show that the CNTs after Joule annealing reach the phonon equilibrium state extremely fast with a timescale of 10 ps, which indicates that thermal transport in CNTs improves following Joule annealing. The methodology described in this study connects conventional macroscopic thermo- and electrodynamics to those at the nanometer scale. Realistic timescale kinetic simulations were performed to further elaborate on the phenomena that occur in CNTs during Joule annealing. The insights obtained in this study are expected to pave the way to parameterize the unexplored thermal and electrical properties of carbon materials at the nanometer scale.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns comprise few-walled CNTs (FWCNTs), mainly consisting of double- and triple-walled CNTs, and have several properties which are beneficial for practical bulk-scale carbon devices. These features include high tensile strength, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and environmental tolerance. However, the synthesis window for fabricating CNT yarns with FWCNTs by the dry-spinning method is quite narrow and optimal conditions have yet to be determined. In this study, we fabricated CNT forests mainly comprised of FWCNTs at various synthesis conditions (temperature and time). The drawability of the CNT forests was characterized depending on the synthesis conditions. Our results show that optimum values exist for continuously drawable CNT forests in terms of both their height (>130 μm) and bulk density (>90 mg/cm3) for satisfying enough entanglement force between the CNT bundles. The diameter and number of walls of the CNTs are controlled by the temperature during the formation of catalyst particles because the sizes of catalyst particles are approximately equal to the outer diameter of CNTs. All temperature conditions in the range 350–500 °C, used to form catalyst particles, resulted in a drawable FWCNT forest. These insights will be useful for developing devices based on FWCNT yarns.

Interfaces in nanocarbon materials are highly important, as they determine the properties of carbon-based devices. In terms of carrier and thermal transport properties, the interfacial features are...

A two-dimensional nanocarbon, graphene, has attracted substantial interest due to its excellent properties. The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) has been investigated for the mass production of gra...

We explore the temperature dependence of pressure-driven water permeation through membranes consisting of a vertically aligned double-walled carbon nanotube (VA DWCNT) array. The prepared membrane with CNT inner diameter of 3.9 nm exhibits no water permeation below the critical temperature of 26 °C, after which water permeability is first observed and increases with temperatures >26 °C. Further, the critical temperature decreases to 18 °C when the CNT inner diameter increases to 6.0 nm. The water permeation in the CNT-confined space exhibits activation energy transitions around room temperature, thereby suggesting that the confined water molecules in CNTs exhibit plural ordered structures.

Flexible, light-weight and robust thermoelectric (TE) materials have attracted much attention to convert waste heat from low-grade heat sources, such as human body, to electricity. Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn is one of the potential TE materials owing to its narrow band-gap energy, high charge carrier mobility, and excellent mechanical property, which is conducive for flexible and wearable devices. Herein, we propose a way to improve the power factor of CNT yarns fabricated from few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWCNTs) by two-step method; Joule-annealing in the vacuum followed by doping with p-type dopants, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluo-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ). Numerical calculations and experimental results explain that Joule-annealing and doping modulate the electronic states (Fermi energy level) of FWCNTs, resulting in extremely large thermoelectric power factor of 2250 µW m−1 K−2 at a measurement temperature of 423 K. Joule-annealing removes amorphous carbon on the surface of the CNT yarn, which facilitates doping in the subsequent step, and leads to higher Seebeck coefficient due to the transformation from (semi) metallic to semiconductor behavior. Doping also significantly increases the electrical conductivity due to the effective charge transfers between CNT yarn and F4TCNQ upon the removal of amorphous carbon after Joule-annealing.

Annealing and functionalization of carbon nanotube yarns (CNYs) is a prospective way of increasing the electrical conductivity of this material. We show a novel way, the simultaneous annealing and instant coating of the CNY by its resistance-heating in atmospheres of hydrocarbons. This method is capable to preserve the lightweight properties of CNYs and increase the electrical conductivity. It could be raised by a factor of 2 through carbon deposition onto the yarns and the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) inside the yarn structure. By resistance-heating over a multistep process the conductivity could be even increased by a factor of 2.2. Comparison of annealing under atmosphere of different hydrocarbons and at different temperatures reveals the influence of resistance-heating on the structure of CNY.

Nanofluidics in CNTs is argumentative though it is theoretically calculated by various reports. It is because only a few of experimental reports are available, and the measured permeability is not so large as that suggested from the theoretical calculations. Also, water motion suppression in the confined space has not been exhibited by flux measurement. The present work explores these yet-unsolved discrepancies using the measurable size membrane of vertically aligned double-walled carbon nanotube array, which is borne with durability and flexibility, and a conventional measurement method is applied to the membranes. Water motion suppression occurs in the CNT confined space significantly, depending on temperature. Additionally, it is confirmed that the obtained permeability correlates to the reported experimental results with regard to the relationship between CNT length and permeability, and the correlation does not agree with permeability calculated from the Hagen-Poiseuille law. These results pose an insight into the inherent water transport characteristics in the CNT confined space.

This report deals with a simple and efficient method to develop hybrid carbon nanoparticles (Nps) employing Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Fullerene nps. Fullerene nps were self-assembled via Ultrasonicated Liquid-Liquid Precipitation. Surface treated MWCNTs were entangled with fullerene nps during the process of assembling of the fullerene nps. Fullerene nps are formed by reaction between two solutions, one is the saturated solution which contains dissolved fullerene and other solution is a rough alcohol. This reaction increases the concentration of carbon in the solution and leads to super saturate hence self-assembling into nanoparticles. The obtained hybrid nanoparticles sizes were in the range of 100 nm to 300 nm with entangled mwcnts and were confirmed by characterization using SEM, Raman, UV-Vis, XRD, and DLS.

ZnO decked few layered graphene (FLG; 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 wt%) nanocomposites were synthesized by simple and cost effective way using ultrasonic-assisted synthesis method. The morphological, optical and structural properties of as-synthesized nanocomposites were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, UV–Visible spectroscopy with diffuse reflectance, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and ramam spectroscopy. The synthesized FLG (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 wt%)/ZnO nanocomposite were used as photoanode materials and deposited as thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate by doctor blade method for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) fabrication. By varying the FLG weight percentage (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 wt%) in ZnO nanocomposites the power conversion efficiency (PCE) in DSSC was optimized. Using N719 dye the current density–voltage (J–V) was measured under AM 1.5G, 100 m W/m2 of the solar simulator. Results obtained after optimization showed PCE of 4.61% at the suitable FLG (1.0 wt%)/ZnO, compared to ZnO and other photoanodes.

Hybrid films of multilayer graphene (MG) containing amorphous carbon (a-C) were synthesized on Al substrates by microwave surface-wave plasma chemical vapor deposition. Raman scattering and surface transmission electron microscopy showed that the carbon films contained a large quantity of MG when a radio frequency (RF) substrate bias was not applied. Amorphization of graphene in the carbon film was promoted by applying an RF bias, which generated Ar+ in the plasma. The bandgaps of the films were found to increase as the Raman intensity ratios between the 2D-band (at 2700 cm−1) and D-band (at 1350 cm−1) decreased, indicating the formation of a-C. The MG/a-C all-sp2 phase of carbon hybrid films exhibited an increase in current density under 5 mW/cm2 of AM1.5G solar simulated irradiation as the RF bias increased because of Ar+-induced amorphization of the graphene. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We successfully synthesized graphene by microwave surface-wave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and investigated the effect of UV light and ion collision from the plasma exposure during graphene synthesis. The graphene obtained here was multilayer graphene consisting of approximately 5 layers according to cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy results. The quality of the graphene was compared between the case where UV light was irradiated from the plasma and the case where the UV light was blocked by a grid-inserted CVD configuration. Quality was evaluated by Raman scattering spectroscopy. There were more defects in the graphene prepared with irradiation of UV light than with blocking of UV light. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of ion collisions that occurred in the plasma, but they had no effect on graphene quality. These results suggest that during graphene synthesis, UV light from the plasma affects its crystallinity. The electrical conductivity, optical transmittance and mobility of the transferred graphene films were measured to clarify the effects of UV light irradiation.

We performed in situ x-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments on an inorganic–organic hybrid perovskite, CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3), during its interaction with moisture to understand the degradation mechanism. Although the degradation of inorganic–organic hybrid perovskite is an important factor hampering their development as solar cell materials, understanding of the degradation process is currently limited. The moisture-induced degradation mechanism was revealed by the temperature dependence of the in situ XRD pattern sequences and first-principles calculations based on the nudged elastic band method. The combination of experimental and computational data suggests that the MAPbI3 crystal spontaneously changes into the MAPbI3 mono-hydrate crystal once water molecules activated with an energy of more than ∼0.6 eV penetrate the (100) outer surface of the MAPbI3 lattice. These findings have important implications for the development of more robust inorganic–organic hybrid perovskites as light absorbing layers in solar cells and other applications.

Carbon nanotube yarns (CNY) are a novel carbonaceous material and have received a great deal of interest since the beginning of the 21st century. CNY are of particular interest due to their useful heat conducting, electrical conducting, and mechanical properties. The electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube yarns can also be influenced by functionalization and annealing. A systematical study of this post synthetic treatment will assist in understanding what factors influences the conductivity of these materials. In this investigation, it is shown that the electrical conductivity can be increased by a factor of 2 and 5.5 through functionalization with acids and high temperature annealing respectively. The scale of the enhancement is dependent on the reducing of intertube space in case of functionalization. For annealing, not only is the highly graphitic structure of the carbon nanotubes (CNT) important, but it is also shown to influence the residual amorphous carbon in the structure. The promising results of this study can help to utilize CNY as a replacement for common materials in the field of electrical wiring.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns are fabricated by drawing (combined with spinning) from CNT forests and grown on a substrate. Three types of phenomena occur in these CNT yarns with increasing amounts of current: yarn rotation, catalyst evaporation, and breakage of the yarn. These phenomena result from the resistive heating occurring during the current flow, and have been observed in situ under vacuum by transmission electron microscopy. If these CNT yarns are applied to electronic circuits, the rotation and breakage may lead to circuit failure. However, catalyst evaporation is a useful method for purifying CNT yarns without additional treatments prior to yarn fabrication.

A common challenge for pump-probe studies of structural dynamics at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) is the determination of time zero (T0)—the time an optical pulse (e.g., an optical laser) arrives coincidently with the probe pulse (e.g., a XFEL pulse) at the sample position. In some cases, T0 might be extracted from the structural dynamics of the sample's observed response itself, but generally, an independent robust method is required or would be superior to the inferred determination of T0. In this paper, we present how the structural dynamics in ultrafast melting of bismuth can be exploited for a quickly performed, reliable and accurate determination of T0 with a precision below 20 fs and an overall experimental accuracy of 50 fs to 150 fs (estimated). Our approach is potentially useful and applicable for fixed-target XFEL experiments, such as serial femtosecond crystallography, utilizing an optical pump pulse in the ultraviolet to near infrared spectral range and a pixelated 2D photon detector for recording crystallographic diffraction patterns in transmission geometry. In comparison to many other suitable approaches, our method is fairly independent of the pumping wavelength (UV–IR) as well as of the X-ray energy and offers a favorable signal contrast. The technique is exploitable not only for the determination of temporal characteristics of the experiment at the interaction point but also for investigating important conditions affecting experimental control such as spatial overlap and beam spot sizes.

This paper presents a growth and characterization of vertically aligned PdxCoi-x alloy encapsulated inside Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) arrays on Pd/Co thin layers coated on Si substrate by a dc bias-enhanced plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The Metal Alloy Encapsulated within MWCNTs (MAE-MWCNTs) were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The SEM images show the teardrop-shape particles encapsulated within the tube top of MWCNTs. A vibrating sample magnetometer was used to study the magnetism of a large number of MAE-MWCNTs on Si substrate at room temperature. The hysteresis loop of the ME-MWCNTs shows clear ferromagnetic behavior and the easy axis of magnetization is parallel to the MEA-MWCNT tube axis, as can be elucidated from the large coercive fields and remanence values. Moreover, TEM off-axis electron holograms were used to study the magnetism of the individual MAE-MWCNT or the two pair of MAE-MWCNTs. Based on electron holography, we have successfully obtained the saturation magnetization of 0.7 T and 1.12 T for the individual MAE-MWCNT with diameters of 41 nm and 83 nm, respectively.

Owing to its unique properties, graphene has attracted tremendous attention in many research fields. There is a great space to develop graphene synthesis techniques by an efficient and environmentally friendly approach. In this paper, we report a facile method to synthesize well-dispersed multilayer graphene (MLG) without using any chemical reagents or organic solvents. This was achieved by the ozone-assisted sonication of the natural graphite in a water medium. The frequency or number of ozone treatments plays an important role for the dispersion in the process. The possible mechanism of graphene exfoliation and the introduction of functional groups have been postulated. The experimental setup is unique for ozone treatment and enables the elimination of ozone off-gas. The heat generated by the dissipation of ultrasonic waves was used as it is, and no additional heat was supplied. The graphene dispersion was stable, and no evidence of aggregation was observed---even after several months. The characterization results show that well-dispersed MLG was successfully synthesized without any significant damage to the overall structure. The graphene obtained by this method has potential applications in composite materials, conductive coatings, energy storage, and electronic devices.

We demonstrate a unique strategy to fabricate highly transparent and flexible field electron emitters (FEEs) based on combined carbon nanostructures, i.e., conical nanocarbon structures (CNCSs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The combined structure was prepared by spray coating of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) dispersed SWNTs onto neon ion (Ne+) irradiation induced CNCSs on nafion substrate. The field emission (FE) property of SWCNTs on both flat nafion and CNCSs surfaces increased with increasing the SWCNTs amount. The best FE result was attained for the highest amount of SWCNTs on the CNCSs substrate. This kind of collective structures is found to be effective emitters on transparent and flexible ion-irradiated nafion substrate. Moreover, the combined carbon nanostructures showed improved transparency and emission performance compared to the individual nanostructures. The FE properties of 0.5 ml SWCNTs solution on CNCSs surfaces were equal to those of 1.5 ml SWCNTs solution on flat nafion surface. The hybrid structure based emitters (CNCSs and SWCNTs) produced by this method are lower-cost cathode materials than hybrid structures of SWCNTs and flat nafion. Thus the combined nanostructures of SWCNTs/CNCSs might have huge prospects for the fabrication of efficient transparent and flexible FEEs and their broad application in next-generation portable display devices. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The domain structure of graphene films deposited by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process has a great influence on the electrical and physical properties. Here, we tackled the synthesis of increased domain size of single layer and bi-layer graphene along with few-layer graphene on Ni foil using solid camphor as a carbon source. To achieve this, effect of the composition of carrier gas for the evaporated camphor was investigated. Raman mapping and peak width (FWHM) analyses gave the insight of the quality and number of graphene layers. Optical and scanning electron microcopy studies show significance difference in domain structure of the synthesized graphene in different gas atmosphere. As confirmed by optical and scanning electron microscopes, the graphene domain grown with the carrier gas of Ar/H2 mixture was more than 10 times larger than those grown with pure Ar carrier gas.

Background The use of carbon nanotubes has increased lately. However, the cardiovascular effect of exposure to carbon nanotubes remains elusive. The present study investigated the effects of pulmonary exposure to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) on atherosclerogenesis using normal human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice, a model of human atherosclerosis. Methods HAECs were cultured and exposed to SWCNTs or DWCNTs for 16 h. ApoE−/− mice were exposed to SWCNTs or DWCNTs (10 or 40 μg/mouse) once every other week for 10 weeks by pharyngeal aspiration. Results Exposure to CNTs increased the expression level of adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) and enhanced THP-1 monocyte adhesion to HAECs. ApoE−/− mice exposed to CNTs showed increased plaque area in the aorta by oil red O staining and up-regulation of ICAM-1 expression in the aorta, compared with vehicle-treated ApoE−/− mice. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are mobilized from the bone marrow into the circulation and subsequently migrate to the site of endothelial damage and repair. Exposure of ApoE−/− mice to high-dose SWCNTs or DWCNTs reduced the colony-forming units of EPCs in the bone marrow and diminished their migration function. Conclusion The results suggested that SWCNTs and DWCNTs enhanced atherosclerogenesis by promoting monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells and inducing EPC dysfunction. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12989-016-0166-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Many chemists have attempted syntheses of extended π-electron network molecules because of the widespread interest in the chemistry, physics and materials science of such molecules and their potential applications. In particular, extended phenacene molecules, consisting of coplanar fused benzene rings in a repeating W-shaped pattern have attracted much attention because field-effect transistors (FETs) using phenacene molecules show promisingly high performance. Until now, the most extended phenacene molecule available for transistors was [8]phenacene, with eight benzene rings, which showed very high FET performance. Here, we report the synthesis of a more extended phenacene molecule, [9]phenacene, with nine benzene rings. Our synthesis produced enough [9]phenacene to allow the characterization of its crystal and electronic structures, as well as the fabrication of FETs using thin-film and single-crystal [9]phenacene. The latter showed a field-effect mobility as high as 18 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is the highest mobility realized so far in organic single-crystal FETs.

Mixed matrix hollow fibers composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and polyetherimide (PEI) were fabricated. Pre-treatment of MWCNTs was carried out prior to the incorporation into the polymer matrix using a simple and feasible two stages approach that involved dry air oxidation and surfactant dispersion. The characterizations of the surface treated MWCNTs using TEM and Raman spectroscopy have evidenced the effectiveness of dry air oxidation in eliminating undesired amorphous carbon and metal catalyst while surfactant dispersion using Triton X100 has suppressed the agglomeration of MWCNTs. The resultant mixed matrix hollow fibers were applied for O(2)/N(2) pure gas separation. Interestingly, it was found that removal of disordered amorphous carbons and metal particles has allowed the hollow structures to be more accessible for the fast and smooth transport of gas molecules, hence resulted in noticeable improvement in the gas separation properties. The composite hollow fibers embedded with the surface modified MWCNTs showed increase in permeability as much as 60% while maintaining the selectivity of the O(2)/N(2) gas pair. This study highlights the necessity to establish an appropriate pre-treatment approach for MWCNTs in order to fully utilize the beneficial transport properties of this material in mixed matrix polymer nanocomposite for gas separation.

In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of single Fe-included carbon nanofibers (CNFs) revealed that the fine polycrystalline structure in the shank region of CNFs transformed to graphitic, hollow structures during a field emission (FE) process. The iron metal platelets agglomerated during the FE process and perceptibly were emitted from the shank, which featured bamboo-like carbon nanotube (CNT) structures. The structural evolution also improved the electrical properties, and the FE current was remarkably increased, that is, 1000 times higher than the initial value (from 10(-9) to 10(-6) A). The structural transformations were effectuated by Joule heating that generated simultaneously during the FE process. The in situ TEM study of room-temperature-synthesized CNFs could provide essential information regarding CNFs' structural transformation for their possible application in future electron emitter sources.

We demonstrate synthesis of graphene using the solid precursor camphor in a microwave excited surface wave plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. Highly sublimely camphorwas introduced into the plasma chamber in the vapor phase along with Ar and uniform plasma formation was obtained. Rapid deposition of a graphene film on Cu foil was achieved at a relatively low temperature (

Background— Several recent randomized trials comparing everolimus-eluting stent (EES) and sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) reported similar outcomes. However, only 1 trial was powered for a clinical end point, and no trial was powered for evaluating target-lesion revascularization. Methods and Results— Randomized Evaluation of Sirolimus-eluting versus Everolimus-eluting stent Trial is a prospective multicenter randomized open-label trial comparing EES with SES in Japan. The trial was powered for evaluating noninferiority of EES relative to SES in terms of target-lesion revascularization. From February and July 2010, 3197 patients were randomly assigned to receive either EES (1597 patients) or SES (1600 patients). At 1 year, the primary efficacy end point of target-lesion revascularization occurred in 65 patients (4.3%) in the EES group and in 76 patients (5.0%) in the SES group, demonstrating noninferiority of EES to SES ( P noninferiority P superiority =0.34). Cumulative incidence of definite stent thrombosis was low and similar between the 2 groups (0.32% versus 0.38%, P =0.77). An angiographic substudy enrolling 571 patients (EES, 285 patients and SES, 286 patients) demonstrated noninferiority of EES relative to SES regarding the primary angiographic end point of in-segment late loss (0.06±0.37 mm versus 0.02±0.46 mm, P noninferiority P superiority =0.24) at 278±63 days after index stent implantation. Conclusions— One-year clinical and angiographic outcome after EES implantation was noninferior to and not different from that after SES implantation in a stable coronary artery disease population with relatively less complex coronary anatomy. One-year clinical outcome after both EES and SES use was excellent with a low rate of target-lesion revascularization and a very low rate of stent thrombosis. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT01035450.

The present work investigates the relation between ferromagnetism and intrinsic defects of C-doped ZnO thin films. The room-temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) in C-doped ZnO is due to the charge transfer between Zn 4s and C 2p orbitals. The long-range magnetic interaction in C-doped ZnO is due to carbon–carbon interaction mediated by oxygen. The oxygen- and zinc-related defects in C-doped ZnO affect the mediation of ferromagnetic interaction and the existence of hybridization between Zn and C, respectively.

ZnO nanoparticles have been incorporated inside the pore system of mesoporous carbon (MC) which has been synthesized by polymerization of resorcinol and formaldehyde via soft templating approach. 5–20% of ZnO, with an interval of 5, have been incorporated almost exclusively within the mesopores by simple wet impregnation, drying and calcination procedures. The pristine MC shows high surface area (600 m 2 /g) with large pore diameter around 7 nm. After impregnation of ZnO in mesopores, the pore diameter has been decreased from 7 to 6.24 nm which may relate to shrinkage of the framework or deposition of ZnO particles on the inner wall of the pores. With the increase in the ZnO percentage, the specific surface area and pore volume decreased linearly confirming the incorporation of nanoparticles inside the mesopores. TGA confirms ZnO confined in the pores of MC which also prevents the collapsing of mesoporous carbon framework upto 325 °C. Interestingly, the graphitic nature of MC remains same even after impregnation of ZnO nanoparticles inside the pores. However, we strongly believe that this novel composite of ZnO and MC may play significant role in the application like oxygen reduction reactions, photocatalysis, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, catalysis and many more.

A single amorphous carbon nanofiber (CNF) was grown on a commercial Si cantilever by the argon ion (Ar+) bombardment of carbon coated silicon cantilever. The CNF probe was mounted on a piezo controlled arm opposing a soft cantilever to measure the axial force acting on the CNF in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The buckling force was measured while observing the buckling behavior. The CNF probes have an elliptical cross section with short and long axis of 20–29 and 25–59 nm, respectively, and a length of 350–760 nm. The Young’s modulus was determined from Euler’s formula using the measured buckling force and had a value of 38–48 GPa, almost independent of the CNF size. The Young’s modulus was lower than that of high quality carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and higher than that of defective CNTs. It was also demonstrated that the CNF probes were elastic, similar to the CNT probes. Thus CNF probes produced by Ar+ ion bombardment are quite promising as practical nanocarbon probes.

This paper presents the growth evolutions in terms of the structure, growth direction and density of rapid grown carbon nanotube (CNT) forests observed by scanning and transmission electron microcopies (SEM/TEM). A thermal CVD system at around 700 °C was used with a catalyst of Fe films deposited on thin alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) supporting layers, a very fast raising time to the growth temperature below 25 °C/s, and a carbon source gas of acetylene diluted with hydrogen and nitrogen without water vapor. Activity of Fe catalyst nanoparticles was maintained for 5 min during CVD process, and it results in CNT forests with heights up to 0.6 mm. SEM images suggest that the disorder in CNT alignment at the initial stage of CNTs plays a critical role in the formation of continuous CNT growth. Also, the prolonged heating process leads to increased disorder in CNT alignment that may be due to the oxidation process occurring at the Fe nanoparticles. TEM images revealed that both double- and few-walled CNTs with diameters of 5–7 nm were obtained and the CNT density was controlled by thickness of Fe catalytic layer. The number of experiments at the same conditions showed a very good repeatability and reproducibility of rapid grown CNT forests.

We report the synthesis of poly[(3-hexylthiophene)-block-(3-(4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,7-nonafluoroheptyl)thiophene)], P(3HT-b-3SFT), carried out by the Grignard Metathesis Method (GRIM). The copolymers composition was determined by (1)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopies, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The thin films of P(3HT-b-3SFT) were investigated by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We also fabricated bulk-hetero junction (BHJ) solar cells based on blends of P(3HT-b-3SFT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Although the composition ratio of P3SFT in P(3HT-b-3SFT) was low, the influence of P3SFT on the morphology and properties of solar cells was significant. The annealing process for the BHJ solar cells induced the formation of large domains and led to poor solar cell performance. The BHJ solar cells, based on PCBM and P(3HT-b-3SFT), prepared by the non-annealing process, had a maximum power conversion efficiency of 0.84% under 100 mW/cm(2) (AM 1.5 solar illumination) in air.

We synthesize ferromagnetic Co nanowire, and Co/Pd multisegment nanowires encapsulated inside multi-walled carbon nanotubes CNTs (MWCNTs) by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to characterize the microstructures and elemental analyses of the nanowires. Quantitative magnetization measurements of Co nanowires encapsulated inside MWCNTs were experimentally established by TEM off-axis electron holography at room temperature. The MWCNTs grew up to 100-110 nm in diameter and 1.5-1.7 mum in length. The typical bright-field TEM images revealed both Co nanowire and Co/Pd multisegment nanowires encapsulated inside vertically aligned MWCNTs on the same substrate. The composition of metal encapsulated inside MWCNTs were characterized by EDS. Experimental results revealed that the Co nanowire encapsulated inside MWCNT was always presented as the face-centered-cubic (fcc) Co structure. The component of magnetic induction was then measured to be 1.2 plusmn 0.1 T based on TEM off-axis electron holography results, which is lower than the expected saturation magnetization of fcc Co bulk of 1.7 T. The partial oxidation of the ferromagnetic metal during the process and the magnetization direction may play an important role in the determination of the quality of the remanent states. The ferromagnetic metal nanowires encapsulated inside CNTs demonstrate very high potential in providing the required magnetic properties, low dimensionality, and small volume for future nanoscale devices.

We have successfully demonstrated the multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) based field emission cathode fabricated on highly porous, flexible and conductive carbon fiber (CF) sheet without damage of CF sheet by chemical vapor deposition. CF sheet was composed of thin fibers with diameter of about 3 μm prepared by electrospray deposition. Well aligned MWCNTs grown on, or well anchored to, the flexible CF sheet was confirmed by transmission electron microscope. The field enhancement factor for MWCNT emitter fabricated on CF sheet was about 14,000 and 1.6 times higher than that of MWCNT emitter fabricated on Si substrate. Scanning electron microscopy image indicates that the electron emission occurred from the MWCNT field emitter arrays grown on carbon fibers not only at surface but also under layers in CF sheet. Field emission measurements revealed that this flexible MWCNT field emitter array has a great potential for the flexible field emission displays.

In this paper, we report on the synthesis and applications of semiconducting nanostructures. Nanostructures of interest were zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires and tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotubes where transistors/phototransistors and photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion cells have been fabricated. ZnO nanowires were grown with both high- and low-temperature approaches, depending on the application. Individual ZnO nanowire side-gated transistors revealed excellent performance with a field-effect mobility of 928 cm2/V middots. ZnO networks were proposed for large-area macroelectronic devices as a less lithographically intense alternative to individual nanowire transistors where mobility values in excess of 20 cm2/V middots have been achieved. Flexible PV devices utilizing ZnO nanowires as electron acceptors and for photoinduced charge separation and transport have been presented. Phototransistors were fabricated using individual WS2 nanotubes, where clear sensitivity to visible light has been observed. The results presented here simply reveal the potential use of inorganic nanowires/tubes for various optoelectronic devices.

We have successfully synthesized the Co/Pd magnetic and nonmagnetic multisegment nanowires encapsulated inside multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by using Co and Pd thin-layers deposited on Si substrate by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that MWCNTs were encapsulated with Co and Pd nanowires, separately, at the tube top and the bottom of Co nanowire, respectively. The face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure of Co nanowires was confirmed by a selected area diffraction pattern. We proposed a fruitful description for the encapsulating mechanisms of both Co and Pd multisegment nanowires. The component of magnetic induction from Co region, not Pd region, was then estimated to be 1.2 ± 0.1 T, based on results of off-axis electron holography, which is lower than the expected saturation magnetization of fcc bulk Co of 1.7 T. We proposed a fruitful description for the mechanisms of reduced magnetic induction from Co nanowires.

Polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells with poly[3-hexylthiophene] (P3HT), poly [2-methoxy-5-(20-ethylhexoxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), and 6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were produced and characterized. A device based on P3HT and PCBM provided better efficiency, fill factor, and short-circuit current compared to those of a device based on MEH-PPV and PCBM. The solar cell with P3HT and PCBM structure showed a higher photoresponse in the range of 400–650 nm. Energy levels of the molecules were calculated and discussed.

Single crystalline Ge nanowires have been fabricated by filtration of rod-shaped Ge precipitates from aged Al–Ge alloy using HCl solution. The diameter of the Ge nanowires ranged from 30 to 100 nm when the aging conditions of the Al–Ge alloy was altered. The Ge nanowires grow preferentially in the [1 1 0] direction, which is the same as observed earlier for rod-shaped Ge precipitates in the aged Al–Ge alloy.

We report the synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) encapsulated with Co/Pd magnetic and nonmagnetic multi-metal nanowires using Co and Pd thin-layers deposited on Si substrate by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a bias-enhanced growth method. Detailed structural and compositional investigations of these metal nanowires inside MWCNTs were carried out by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the growth mechanisms. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that MWCNTs were encapsulated with Co and Pd nanowires, separately, at the tube top and the bottom of Co nanowire, respectively. The face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure of Co nanowires was confirmed by a selected area diffraction pattern. We proposed a fruitful description for the encapsulating mechanisms of both Co and Pd multi-metal nanowires.

Notable progress has been made recently on the properties and applications of Carbon nanotube (CNT). However, CNT has not achieved any remarkable practical applications from the industrial point of view. In this article, we report our recent progress on the bulk fiber structure of CNT yarn spun from the CNT forest. The unique fiber-like structure of CNT yarns gives them exceptional mechanical toughness, electrical conductivity, resilience to bending stress, and blend with polymer materials for a composite structure. CNT yarn, which is produced by spinning of high dense and relatively long CNT forest, has emerged as a new high-performance CNT-based bulk and composite material. We have made improvements in properties of CNT yarn by applying high voltage (HV) to the CNT yarn in a vacuum chamber. The tensile strengths of as-spun and HV-treated CNT yarns were 624 MPa and 955 MPa, respectively. The crystallization behavior of the amorphous carbon on CNTs was confirmed by a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The CNT yarns provide them mechanical properties different from those of original high-performance fiber.

Field-effect transistors (FETs) with single crystals of a new phenacene-type molecule, [8]phenacene, were fabricated and characterized. This new molecule consists of a phenacene core of eight benzene rings, with an extended π-conjugated system, which was recently synthesized for use in an FET by our group. The FET characteristics of an [8]phenacene single-crystal FET with SiO2 gate dielectrics show typical p-channel properties with an average field-effect mobility, 〈μ〉, as high as 3(2) cm2 V−1 s−1 in two-terminal measurement mode, which is a relatively high value for a p-channel single-crystal FET. The 〈μ〉 was determined to be 6(2) cm2 V−1 s−1 in four-terminal measurement mode. Low-voltage operation was achieved with PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) as the gate dielectric, and an electric-double-layer (EDL) capacitor. The 〈μ〉 and average values of absolute threshold voltage, 〈|Vth|〉, were 1.6(4) cm2 V−1 s−1 and 5(1) V, respectively, for PZT, and 4(2) × 10−1 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 2.38(4) V, respectively, for the EDL capacitor; these values were evaluated in two-terminal measurement mode. The inverter circuit was fabricated using [8]phenacene and N,N′-1H,1H-perfluorobutyldicyanoperylene-carboxydi-imide single-crystal FETs. This is the first logic gate circuit using phenacene molecules. Furthermore, the relationship between μ and the number of benzene rings was clarified based on this study and the previous studies on phenacene single-crystal FETs. Transistors fabricated using the single crystals of [8]phenacene | Request PDF. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279312106_Transistors_fabricated_using_the_single_crystals_of_8phenacene [accessed Mar 08 2018].

We report the synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and the characterization of temperature-dependent electrical transport properties of MWCNT networks by using a two-point configuration without the lithographical technique. MWCNTs were grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition with the bias enhanced growth technique. The Raman intensity ratio between the D- (∼1360 cm − 1 ) and G- (∼1590 cm − 1 ) peaks ( I D / I G ) as well as the full width at half maximum of the G-peak decreased from 1.03 to 0.03 and 18 to 13 cm − 1 , respectively, with the increase in the oxidative purification time. This indicates that the crystallinity of graphite sheets is improved by the oxidative purification process and burn-off of the defects in MWCNT networks. The metal electrodes were attached on both the top and the bottom of the insulating thin films, and the as-grown and oxidative-purified MWCNT networks were connected between the electrodes for I – V measurements at various temperatures. At room temperature, the conductance for the MWNT networks at around zero bias was 0.65 G 0 ( G 0 : fundamental conductance unit), which was less than the value of 1 G 0 for metallic MWCNTs. Further, the conductance increased linearly with the bias voltage until it attained its peak. In the 190–390 K range, the temperature characteristic of the I – V shows that the electron transport of the as-grown MWCNT networks was activated by a lower activation energy than that in oxidative-purified MWCNT networks.

A new type of palladium-based metal-filled carbon nanotubes (MF-CNTs) was fabricated and their characteristics were investigated. The MF-CNTs were grown on Pd/SiO 2 /Si substrates and Pd/Mo mesh by a microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method using CH 4 and H 2 gasses with the technique of bias-enhanced growth method. The structure and composition of Pd-based MF-CNTs were thoroughly investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy. TEM and EDS analyses showed that MF-CNTs were composed of thick cylindrical graphite walls, and filled with Pd metal inside their roots. Based on TEM characterizations, we proposed a fruitful description for the encapsulating mechanisms.

Solar cells with high efficiency and low price have long been desired, however, the commercially available solar cells are still expensive and the efficiencies of them are not high enough yet. A ta...

Catalysts are usually required to produce carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and play important roles during the growth process. Any catalysts that remain after processing are expected to add extra properties and removal of the catalysts is usually required to achieve the original properties of CNTs. Recently, CNTs have been filled incidentally by catalysts, such as Pb, Sn, Ni and Bi. This has led to success in obtaining additional properties and a few models have been proposed to describe the encapsulating mechanisms. In the present study, CNTs were filled with palladium by a microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition method. Detailed structural and compositional investigations of these metal-filled CNTs were carried out by transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the growth mechanisms.