Systematic Study of the Effect of Incorporation of Carbon Nanotubes into GexSe1-x Glass System

Abstract

AbstractWe have successfully synthesized GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass samples and incorporated commercially produced (Protein Mods) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into the glass samples. We investigated the glass transition temperature (Tg) using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). CNTs, being a very hygroscopic material as well as oxygen absorbing material, needed to be cleaned under vacuum with the hot water-bath to get rid of contaminants. We used contaminant-free CNTs for our study. The same cleaning process was used to prepare GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass samples with and without CNTs. The base GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass sample has a Tg of 220°C. The Tg was found to be independent of starting materials (germanium and selenium) from different sources as well as hot water-bath temperature. The Tg was found to be lower when 5% CNT's by mass was added to the base GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass sample. For 10% incorporation, the Tg was found to increase from that of 5% and it was found to decrease from that of 10% when 15% CNTs was added to the base glass sample. We also found that the Tg for GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass samples with the incorporation of 5% not-cleaned CNTs was 10oC higher, indicating the sensitivity of Tg on contaminants. Further, it was found that the variation of Tg with the incorporation of bulk carbon into the GexSe1-x (x = 0.225) glass samples was inconsistent compared to the contaminant-free CNTs incorporation.