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Applied Sciences
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Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes
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Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2020) | Viewed by 15030

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Christopher Gibson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Flinders Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
Interests: nanotechnology; nanometrology; nanomaterial synthesis and characterisation; microcantilever sensing and characterisation; atomic force microscopy; raman microscopy; electron microscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon nanotubes are rolled up sheets of one-atom-thick carbon and can be single walled or multi-walled as well as metallic or semi-conducting in nature. The chemical bonding of the carbon atoms in nanotubes gives them incredible strength and they also possess excellent electrical and heat conducting properties that have made them the focus of research throughout the worldwide scientific community for over two decades. Their amazing properties have meant that carbon nanotubes have found applications in a wide range of scientific disciplines and fields of study including, for example, energy production and storage, nanotechnology, materials science, scanning probe microscopy, drug delivery, sensing, filtration, and microelectronics. New methods to produce carbon nanotubes in all their various forms are always being sought, and methods to accurately and precisely characterize these nanomaterials are crucial to understanding their properties and allowing them to be applied to the most appropriate areas of academic and industrial scientific research. This Special Issue of Applied Sciences will present the latest developments in the fabrication, characterization, and application of carbon nanotubes by research groups throughout the international scientific community; demonstrate how important and exciting these materials are; and highlight their potential in scientific research and device applications in the future. 

Dr. Christopher Gibson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Single-wall
  • Multi-wall
  • Chiral nanotubes
  • Nanotechnology
  • Mechanical properties
  • Electrical and thermal properties

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4468 KiB  
Article
The Use of Gravity Filtration of Carbon Nanotubes from Suspension to Produce Films with Low Roughness for Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Heterojunction Solar Device Application
by Tom S. L. Grace, Christopher T. Gibson, Jason R. Gascooke and Joseph G. Shapter
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(18), 6415; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10186415 - 15 Sep 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2103
Abstract
The morphology of carbon nanotube (CNT) films is an important factor in the performance of CNT/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar devices. Films have generally been prepared via vacuum filtration from aqueous suspensions. Whilst this enables strong films to be formed quickly, they are highly [...] Read more.
The morphology of carbon nanotube (CNT) films is an important factor in the performance of CNT/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar devices. Films have generally been prepared via vacuum filtration from aqueous suspensions. Whilst this enables strong films to be formed quickly, they are highly disordered on the micron scale, with many charge traps and gaps forming in the films. It has been previously established that lowering the filtration speed enables more ordered films to be formed. The use of slow gravity filtration to improve the morphology of CNT films used in the CNT/Si device is reported here. It was found that slow filtration causes significant macroscale inhomogeneity in the CNT films, with concentrated thick regions, surrounded by larger thinner areas. By using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and polarised Raman spectroscopy, it was determined that there was no large improvement in directional organisation of the CNTs on the microscale. However, the films were found to be much smoother on the microscale, with arithmetic and root mean square average height deviation values roughly 3 times lower for slow-filtered films compared to fast-filtered films. A comparison was performed with CNT-Si solar cells fabricated with both slow and fast-filtered single-walled CNTs (SWCNT) films. It was found that slow filtration can produce similar photovoltaic results with thinner films. The results demonstrate that film morphology, even without improved CNT alignment, can lead to significant improvement in device performance in some applications. However, slow filtration did not form films of uniform light transmittance over an extended area, causing an increase in the variation in performance between individual devices compared to fast-filtered films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes)
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14 pages, 5186 KiB  
Article
The Attachment of Carbon Nanotubes to Atomic Force Microscopy Tips Using the Pick-Up Method
by Christopher T. Gibson
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(16), 5575; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10165575 - 12 Aug 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3952
Abstract
In the last 30 years research has shown that the resolution and reproducibility of data acquired using the atomic force microscope (AFM) can be improved through the development of new imaging modes or by modifying the AFM tip. One method that has been [...] Read more.
In the last 30 years research has shown that the resolution and reproducibility of data acquired using the atomic force microscope (AFM) can be improved through the development of new imaging modes or by modifying the AFM tip. One method that has been explored since the 1990s is to attach carbon nanotubes (CNT) to AFM tips. CNTs possess a small diameter, high aspect ratio, high strength and demonstrate a high degree of wear resistance. While early indications suggested the widespread use of these types of probes would be routine this has not been the case. A number of methods for CNT attachment have been proposed and explored including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), dielectrophoresis and manual attachment inside a scanning electron microscope (SEM). One of the earliest techniques developed is known as the pick-up method and involves adhering CNTs to AFM tips by simply scanning the AFM tip, in tapping mode, across a CNT-covered surface until a CNT attaches to the AFM tip. In this work we will further investigate how, for example, high force tapping mode imaging can improve the stability and success rate of the pick-up method. We will also discuss methods to determine CNT attachment to AFM probes including changes in AFM image resolution, amplitude versus distance curves and SEM imaging. We demonstrate that the pick-up method can be applied to a range of AFM probes, including contact mode probes with relatively soft spring constants (0.28 N/m). Finally, we demonstrate that the pick-up method can be used to attach CNTs to two AFM tips simultaneously. This is significant as it demonstrates the techniques potential for attaching CNTs to multiple AFM tips which could have applications in AFM-based data storage, devices such as the Snomipede, or making CNT-AFM tips more commercially viable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes)
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12 pages, 1786 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Hybrid Molybdenum Disulfide/Single Wall Carbon Nanotube–n-Type Silicon Solar Cells
by Samira Almalki, LePing Yu, Tom Grace, Abdulaziz S. R. Bati and Joseph G. Shapter
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(1), 287; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10010287 - 30 Dec 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3017
Abstract
Carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar cells represent one new architecture for photovoltaic devices. The addition of MoS2 to the devices is shown to increase the efficiency of the devices. Two structures are explored. In one case, the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) [...] Read more.
Carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar cells represent one new architecture for photovoltaic devices. The addition of MoS2 to the devices is shown to increase the efficiency of the devices. Two structures are explored. In one case, the single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and MoS2 flakes are mixed to make a hybrid, which is then used to make a film, while in the other case, a two layer system is used with the MoS2 deposited first followed by the SWCNTs. In all cases, the solar cell efficiency is improved largely due to significant increases in the fill factor. The rise in fill factor is due to the semiconducting nature of the MoS2, which helps with the separation of charge carriers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes)
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11 pages, 1794 KiB  
Article
Application of A Novel, Non-Doped, Organic Hole-Transport Layer into Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells
by Tom Grace, Hong Duc Pham, Christopher T. Gibson, Joseph G. Shapter and Prashant Sonar
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(21), 4721; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app9214721 - 05 Nov 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2350
Abstract
The search for novel solar cell designs as an alternative to standard silicon solar cells is important for the future of renewable energy production. One such alternative design is the carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar device. In order to improve the performance of [...] Read more.
The search for novel solar cell designs as an alternative to standard silicon solar cells is important for the future of renewable energy production. One such alternative design is the carbon nanotube/silicon (CNT/Si) heterojunction solar device. In order to improve the performance of large area CNT/Si heterojunction solar cells, a novel organic material, 4,10-bis(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)naptho[7,8,1,2,3-nopqr]tetraphene-6,12-dione (DPA-ANT-DPA (shortened to DAD)), was added as an interlayer between the CNT film and the silicon surface. The interlayer was examined with SEM and AFM imaging to determine an optimal thickness for solar cell performance. The DAD was shown to improve the device performance with the efficiency of large area devices improving from 2.89% ± 0.40% to 3.34% ± 0.10%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes)
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15 pages, 7512 KiB  
Article
Study on Lightweight and Strengthening Effect of Carbon Nanotube in Highly Ordered Nanoporous Nickel: A Molecular Dynamics Study
by Yu Zhou, Wu-Gui Jiang, Duo-Sheng Li and Qing-Hua Qin
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(2), 352; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app9020352 - 21 Jan 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2995
Abstract
The mechanical behavior of nanocomposites consisting of highly ordered nanoporous nickel (HONN) and its carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced composites (CNHONNs) subjected to a high temperature of 900 K is investigated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The study indicates that, out-of-plane mechanical properties of the [...] Read more.
The mechanical behavior of nanocomposites consisting of highly ordered nanoporous nickel (HONN) and its carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced composites (CNHONNs) subjected to a high temperature of 900 K is investigated via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The study indicates that, out-of-plane mechanical properties of the HONNs are generally superior to its in-plane mechanical properties. Whereas the CNT shows a significant strengthening effect on the out-of-plane mechanical properties of the CNHONN composites. Compared to pure HONNs, through the addition of CNTs from 1.28 wt‰ to 5.22 wt‰, the weight of the composite can be reduced by 5.83‰ to 2.33% while the tensile modulus, tensile strength, compressive modulus and compressive strength can be increased by 2.2% to 8.8%, 1% to 5.1%, 3.6% to 10.2% and 4.9% to 10.7%, respectively. The energy absorption capacity can also be improved due to the existence of CNTs. Furthermore, the MD simulations provide further insights into the deformation mechanism at the atomic scale, including fracture in tension, pore collapse in compression and local changes in lattice structures due to stacking faults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fabrication, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes)
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