Abstract
Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) transparent conducting films (TCFs) are attracting increasing attention due to their exceptional optoelectronic properties. Toluene is a proposed carbon source for SWCNT synthesis, but the growth parameters of SWCNTs and their TCF optoelectronic performance (i.e., sheet resistance versus transmittance) have been insufficiently evaluated. Here, we have for the first time reported a systematic study of the fabrication of high-performance SWCNT TCFs using toluene alone as the carbon source. The mechanisms behind each observed phenomenon were elucidated using optical and microscopy techniques. By optimizing the growth parameters, high yields of SWCNT TCFs exhibiting a considerably low sheet resistance of 57 Ω/sq at 90% transmittance were obtained. This competitive optoelectronic performance is mainly attributable to long SWCNT bundles (mean length is 41.4 μm) in the film. Additionally, a chirality map determined by electron diffraction displays a bimodal distribution of chiral angles divided at 15°, which is close to both armchair and zigzag edges. Our study paved the way towards scaled-up production of SWCNTs for the fabrication of high-performance TCFs for industrial applications.
Highlights
Transparent conducting films (TCFs) composed of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have outstanding electrical and optical properties, and have high potential for various applications, such as thin-film transistors [1], solar cells [2], organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) [3] and strain sensors [4]
We found that a reactor temperature of 1,100 °C produces high-quality Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) for the fabrication of thin films with low sheet resistances, and high optoelectronic performance (Fig. 3(a))
Compared with the lengths of SWCNTs grown from carbon monoxide [6], ethylene [13] or ethanol [10] as the carbon source, we suggest that toluene, as a more active hydrocarbon, could provide enough carbon atoms for nanotube growth prior to the deactivation of the catalyst
Summary
Transparent conducting films (TCFs) composed of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have outstanding electrical and optical properties, and have high potential for various applications, such as thin-film transistors [1], solar cells [2], organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) [3] and strain sensors [4]. Toluene (C7H8) has been utilized as the carbon source for the synthesis of SWCNTs in an enhanced direct injection pyrolytic synthesis (e-DIPs) method [14] and to produce CNTs for spinning fibers [15] Both processes are characterized by a high yield of nanotubes. The chiral structure of the SWCNTs was statistically studied by the electron diffraction technique
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