Improving electrical contact properties of carbon nanotubes by Co doping using metal-organic framework as template

Abstract

In order to reduce the contact resistance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), we designed a simple and new way for doping transition metal Co on CNTs. Bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZnCo-ZIFs) were in situ grown on the carboxylated CNTs first, and then with the volatilization of Zn metal during the pyrolysis at 800 °C, Co-CNTs were successfully fabricated. The Raman spectra indicated that Co decoration induced a p-type doping effect, which facilitated to increase the electrical conductivity of Co-CNTs. Co-CNTs were assembled onto gold electrodes by dielectrophoresis, and the contact resistance of Co-CNTs was much lower than that of pristine CNTs (66.67% decrease). This work may provide a new insight into the development of metal-doped CNTs based on metal-organic frameworks precursors for improving the contact resistance of CNTs, as well as the performance and useful life of electronic devices.