Study on dynamic mechanism of controllable SWCNTs arrays prepared by self-assembly

Abstract

Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are seamless hollow tubular structures formed by a layer of graphite curled along a specific spiral vector. Individual SWCNT is restricted by the inconvenient manipulation in its nanoscale, and unable to maximize its functionality in the macro field. As a result, the two-dimensional array is the most basic structure for manufacturing SWCNTs devices in practical application. However, the fidelity of the array pattern and the distribution morphology of individual SWCNT in the large-scale array directly affect its performance, which also poses a challenge to the research on assembly methods and their underlying mechanisms. In this paper, the dynamic mechanism of controllable SWCNTs arrays prepared by self-assembly method has been studied from molecular dynamics to hydrodynamic by a combination of experiments and simulations. Some key factors limiting the fidelity of the arrays and the distribution morphology of individual SWCNT in the array, such as the self-assembly template, the concentration of the SWCNTs dispersion, are investigated and optimized by experiments. Finally, inspired by the results of the mechanism research, a blade-coating procedure is applied in self-assembly process to improve the alignment of SWCNTs in the array. The improved alignment of SWCNTs arrays are verified through morphology analysis and volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics compared with the SWCNTs randomly distributed arrays. The explicitly results are not only helpful to understand dynamic phenomena during self-assembly process and the influencing factors of the self-assembly method but also will provide meaningful guidance in the design, fabrication of SWCNTs arrays to prevent distortion in large scale and further promote their industrial application in manufacturing next-generation micro-nano devices.