Metallic Catalysts for Structure-Controlled Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Single-walled carbon nanotubes synthesized by laser ablation from coal for field-effect transistors

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been attracting extensive attention due to their excellent properties. We have developed a strategy of using coal to synthesize SWCNTs for high performance field-effect transistors (FETs). The high-quality SWCNTs were synthesized by laser ablation using only coal as the carbon source and Co-Ni as the catalyst. We show that coal is a carbon source superior to graphite with higher yield and better selectivity toward SWCNTs with smaller diameters. Without any pre-purification, the as-prepared SWCNTs were directly sorted based on their conductivity and diameter using either aqueous two-phase extraction or organic phase extraction with PCz (poly[9-(1-octylonoyl)-9H-carbazole-2,7-diyl]). The semiconducting SWCNTs sorted by one-step PCz extraction were used to fabricate thin film FETs. The transformation of coal into FETs (and further integrated circuits) demonstrates an efficient way of utilizing natural resources and a marvelous example in green carbon technology. Considering its short steps and high feasibility, it presents great potential in future practical applications not limited to electronics.

Dielectrophoretic alignment of carbon nanotubes: theory, applications, and future

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nominated to be the successor of several semiconductors and metals due to their unique physical and chemical properties. It has been concerning that the anisotropic and low controllability of CNTs impedes their adoption in commercial applications. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is known as the electrokinetics motion of polarizable nanoparticles under the influence of nonuniform electric fields. The uniqueness of this phenomenon allows DEP to be employed as a novel method to align, assemble, separate, and manipulate CNTs suspended in liquid mediums. This article begins with a brief overview of CNT structure and production, with the emphasize on their electrical properties and response to electric fields. The DEP phenomenon as a CNT alignment method is demonstrated and graphically discussed, along with its theory, procedure, and parameters. We also discussed the side forces that arise in DEP systems and how they negatively or positively affect the CNT alignment. The article concludes with a brief review of CNT-based devices fabricated using DEP, as well as the method's limitations and future prospects.

Melting properties of AgxPt1-x nanoparticles

At the nanoscale, materials exhibit unique properties that differ greatly from those of the bulk state. In the case of Ag_xPt_1-x nanoalloys, we aimed to study the solid-liquid transition of nanoparticles of different sizes and compositions. This system is particularly interesting since Pt has a high melting point (2041 K compared to 1035 K for Ag) which could keep the nanoparticle solid during different catalytic reactions at relatively high temperatures, such as we need in the growth of nanotubes. We performed atomic scale simulations using a semi-empirical potential implemented in a Monte Carlo code at constant temperature and chemical composition in a canonical ensemble. We observed that the melting temperature decreases with decreasing size (pure systems and alloys) and increasing Ag content. We show that the melting systematically passes through an intermediate stage with a crystalline core (pure platinum or mixed PtAg depending on the composition) and a pure silver liquid skin, which strongly questions the idea of having a faceted solid particle in catalytic reactions for carbon nanotube synthesis.

Strain-Tunable Electronic and Transport Properties of One-Dimensional Fibrous Phosphorus Nanotubes

The one-dimensional van der Waals (1D vdW) material fibrous red phosphorus (FRP) nanotubes are a promising direct-bandgap semiconductor with high carrier mobility and anisotropic optical responses because of low deformation potential and dangling-bond-free anisotropic interface. Employing first-principles calculations, we captured the potential of 1D FRP nanotubes. The thermal stability of 1D FRP nanotubes was confirmed by phonon calculation. Meanwhile, Raman spectroscopy indicated the strong vibration mode (366 cm^-1) is along the phosphorus nanotube. Interestingly, spatial anisotropy bandgaps were found along with various stacking orientations. The charge transport calculations showed that the 1D FRP nanotube has a high hole mobility (499.2 cm² V^-1 s^-1), considering the weak acoustic phonon scattering. More importantly, we found that the hole mobility changes dramatically (down to 7.1 cm² V^-1 s^-1) under the strain, and the strain-dependent charge transport property of 1D FRP nanotubes could be considered to have many potential applications for electronics, optoelectronics, and switching devices.

Controlled Preparation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Materials for Electronics

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are of particular interest as channel materials for field-effect transistors due to their unique structure and excellent properties. The controlled preparation of SWCNTs that meet the requirement of semiconducting and chiral purity, high density, and good alignment for high-performance electronics has become a key challenge in this field. In this Outlook, we outline the efforts in the preparation of SWCNTs for electronics from three main aspects, structure-controlled growth, selective sorting, and solution assembly, and discuss the remaining challenges and opportunities. We expect that this Outlook can provide some ideas for addressing the existing challenges and inspire the development of SWCNT-based high-performance electronics.

Atomic-Scale Structure Dynamics of Nanocrystals Revealed By In Situ and Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy

Nanocrystals are of great importance in material sciences and industry. Engineering nanocrystals with desired structures and properties is no doubt one of the most important challenges in the field, which requires deep insight into atomic-scale dynamics of nanocrystals during the process. The rapid developments of in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM), especially environmental TEM, reveal insights into nanocrystals to digest. According to the considerable progress based on in situ electron microscopy, a comprehensive review on nanocrystal dynamics from three aspects: nucleation and growth, structure evolution, and dynamics in reaction conditions are given. In the nucleation and growth part, existing nucleation theories and growth pathways are organized based on liquid and gas-solid phases. In the structure evolution part, the focus is on in-depth mechanistic understanding of the evolution, including defects, phase, and disorder/order transitions. In the part of dynamics in reaction conditions, solid-solid and gas-solid interfaces of nanocrystals in atmosphere are discussed and the structure-property relationship is correlated. Even though impressive progress is made, additional efforts are required to develop the integrated and operando TEM methodologies for unveiling nanocrystal dynamics with high spatial, energy, and temporal resolutions.

The Influence of Hydrogen Passivation on Conductive Properties of Graphene Nanomesh—Prospect Material for Carbon Nanotubes Growing

Graphene nanomesh (GNM) is one of the most intensively studied materials today. Chemical activity of atoms near GNM’s nanoholes provides favorable adsorption of different atoms and molecules, besides that, GNM is a prospect material for growing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on its surface. This study calculates the dependence of CNT’s growing parameters on the geometrical form of a nanohole. It was determined by the original methodic that the CNT’s growing from circle nanoholes was the most energetically favorable. Another attractive property of GNM is a tunable gap in its band structure that depends on GNM’s topology. It is found by quantum chemical methods that the passivation of dangling bonds near the hole of hydrogen atoms decreases the conductance of the structure by 2–3.5 times. Controlling the GNM’s conductance may be an important tool for its application in nanoelectronics.

Atomic origins of the strong metal-support interaction in silica supported catalysts

Silica supported metal catalysts are most widely used in the modern chemical industry because of the high stability and tunable reactivity. The strong metal–support interaction (SMSI), which has been widely observed in metal oxide supported catalysts and significantly affects the catalytic behavior, has been speculated to rarely happen in silica supported catalysts since silica is hard to reduce. Here we revealed at the atomic scale the interfacial reaction induced SMSI in silica supported Co and Pt catalysts under reductive conditions at high temperature using aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy coupled with in situ electron energy loss spectroscopy. In a Co/SiO₂ system, the amorphous SiO₂ migrated onto the Co surface to form a crystallized quartz-SiO₂ overlayer, and simultaneously an interlayer of Si was generated in-between. The metastable crystalline SiO₂ overlayer subsequently underwent an order-to-disorder transition due to the continuous dissociation of SiO₂ and the interfacial alloying of Si with the underlying Co. The SMSI in the Pt–SiO₂ system was found to remarkably boost the catalytic hydrogenation. These findings demonstrate the universality of the SMSI in oxide supported catalysts, which is of general importance for designing catalysts and understanding catalytic mechanisms.

This work tracked at the atomic scale the interfacial reaction induced strong metal–support interaction between SiO₂ and metal catalysts and evolution under reactive conditions by aberration-corrected environmental transmission electron microscopy.

Hybrid Films Based on Bilayer Graphene and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Simulation of Atomic Structure and Study of Electrically Conductive Properties

One of the urgent problems of materials science is the search for the optimal combination of graphene modifications and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for the formation of layered hybrid material with specified physical properties. High electrical conductivity and stability are one of the main optimality criteria for a graphene/CNT hybrid structure. This paper presents results of a theoretical and computational study of the peculiarities of the atomic structure and the regularities of current flow in hybrid films based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with a diameter of 1.2 nm and bilayer zigzag graphene nanoribbons, where the layers are shifted relative to the other. It is found that the maximum stresses on atoms of hybrid film do not exceed ~0.46 GPa for all considered topological models. It is shown that the electrical conductivity anisotropy takes place in graphene/SWCNT hybrid films at a graphene nanoribbon width of 4 hexagons. In the direction along the extended edge of the graphene nanoribbon, the electrical resistance of graphene/SWCNT hybrid film reaches ~125 kOhm; in the direction along the nanotube axis, the electrical resistance is about 16 kOhm. The prospects for the use of graphene/SWCNT hybrid films in electronics are predicted based on the obtained results.

Electrically Conductive Networks from Hybrids of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Created by Laser Radiation

A technology for the formation of electrically conductive nanostructures from single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), and their hybrids with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on Si substrate has been developed. Under the action of single pulses of laser irradiation, nanowelding of SWCNT and MWCNT nanotubes with graphene sheets was obtained. Dependences of electromagnetic wave absorption by films of short and long nanotubes with subnanometer and nanometer diameters on wavelength are calculated. It was determined from dependences that absorption maxima of various types of nanotubes are in the wavelength region of about 266 nm. It was found that contact between nanotube and graphene was formed in time up to 400 fs. Formation of networks of SWCNT/MWCNT and their hybrids with rGO at threshold energy densities of 0.3/0.5 J/cm² is shown. With an increase in energy density above the threshold value, formation of amorphous carbon nanoinclusions on the surface of nanotubes was demonstrated. For all films, except the MWCNT film, an increase in defectiveness after laser irradiation was obtained, which is associated with appearance of C–C bonds with neighboring nanotubes or graphene sheets. CNTs played the role of bridges connecting graphene sheets. Laser-synthesized hybrid nanostructures demonstrated the highest hardness compared to pure nanotubes. Maximum hardness (52.7 GPa) was obtained for MWCNT/rGO topology. Regularity of an increase in electrical conductivity of nanostructures after laser irradiation has been established for films made of all nanomaterials. Hybrid structures of nanotubes and graphene sheets have the highest electrical conductivity compared to networks of pure nanotubes. Maximum electrical conductivity was obtained for MWCNT/rGO hybrid structure (~22.6 kS/m). Networks of nanotubes and CNT/rGO hybrids can be used to form strong electrically conductive interconnections in nanoelectronics, as well as to create components for flexible electronics and bioelectronics, including intelligent wearable devices (IWDs).

Graphene oxide-supported cobalt tungstate as catalyst precursor for selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Graphene oxide-supported uniform cobalt tungstate nanoparticles (CoWO₄/GO) were prepared, which can be used as catalyst precursors for the diameter-controlled growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs).

Pillared Graphene Structures Supported by Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes as the Potential Recognition Element for DNA Biosensors

The development of electrochemical biosensors is an important challenge in modern biomedicine since they allow detecting femto- and pico-molar concentrations of molecules. During this study, pillared graphene structures supported by vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNT-graphene) are examined as the potential recognition element of DNA biosensors. Using mathematical modeling methods, the atomic supercells of different (VACNT-graphene) configurations and the energy profiles of its growth are found. Regarding the VACNT(12,6)-graphene doped with DNA nitrogenous bases, calculated band structure and conductivity parameters are used. The obtained results show the presence of adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine on the surface of VACNT(12,6)-graphene significantly changes its conductivity so the considered object could be the prospective element for DNA biosensing.

Thin Graphene-Nanotube Films for Electronic and Photovoltaic Devices: DFTB Modeling

Supercell atomic models of composite films on the basis of graphene and single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with an irregular arrangement of SWCNTs were built. It is revealed that composite films of this type have a semiconducting type of conductivity and are characterized by the presence of an energy gap of 0.43-0.73 eV. It was found that the absorption spectrum of composite films contained specific peaks in a wide range of visible and infrared (IR) wavelengths. On the basis of calculated composite films volt-ampere characteristics (VAC), the dependence of the current flowing through the films on the distance between the nanotubes was identified. For the investigated composites, spectral dependences of the photocurrent were calculated. It was shown that depending on the distance between nanotubes, the maximum photocurrent might shift from the IR to the optical range.

Frame Coating of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Collagen on PET Fibers for Artificial Joint Ligaments

The coating formation technique for artificial knee ligaments was proposed, which provided tight fixation of ligaments of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers as a result of the healing of the bone channel in the short-term period after implantation. The coating is a frame structure of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in a collagen matrix, which is formed by layer-by-layer solidification of an aqueous dispersion of SWCNT with collagen during spin coating and controlled irradiation with IR radiation. Quantum mechanical method SCC DFTB, with a self-consistent charge, was used. It is based on the density functional theory and the tight-binding approximation. The method established the optimal temperature and time for the formation of the equilibrium configurations of the SWCNT/collagen type II complexes to ensure maximum binding energies between the nanotube and the collagen. The highest binding energies were observed in complexes with SWCNT nanometer diameter in comparison with subnanometer SWCNT. The coating had a porous structure-pore size was 0.5-6 μm. The process of reducing the mass and volume of the coating with the initial biodegradation of collagen after contact with blood plasma was demonstrated. This is proved by exceeding the intensity of the SWCNT peaks G and D after contact with the blood serum in the Raman spectrum and by decreasing the intensity of the main collagen bands in the SWCNT/collagen complex frame coating. The number of pores and their size increased to 20 μm. The modification of the PET tape with the SWCNT/collagen coating allowed to increase its hydrophilicity by 1.7 times compared to the original PET fibers and by 1.3 times compared to the collagen coating. A reduced hemolysis level of the PET tape coated with SWCNT/collagen was achieved. The SWCNT/collagen coating provided 2.2 times less hemolysis than an uncoated PET implant. MicroCT showed the effective formation of new bone and dense connective tissue around the implant. A decrease in channel diameter from 2.5 to 1.7 mm was detected at three and, especially, six months after implantation of a PET tape with SWCNT/collagen coating. MicroCT allowed us to identify areas for histological sections, which demonstrated the favorable interaction of the PET tape with the surrounding tissues. In the case of using the PET tape coated with SWCNT/collagen, more active growth of connective tissue with mature collagen fibers in the area of implantation was observed than in the case of only collagen coating. The stimulating effect of SWCNT/collagen on the formation of bone trabeculae around and inside the PET tape was evident in three and six months after implantation. Thus, a PET tape with SWCNT/collagen coating has osteoconductivity as well as a high level of hydrophilicity and hemocompatibility.

Chirality Pure Carbon Nanotubes: Growth, Sorting, and Characterization

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been attracting tremendous attention owing to their structure (chirality) dependent outstanding properties, which endow them with great potential in a wide range of applications. The preparation of chirality-pure SWCNTs is not only a great scientific challenge but also a crucial requirement for many high-end applications. As such, research activities in this area over the last two decades have been very extensive. In this review, we summarize recent achievements and accumulated knowledge thus far and discuss future developments and remaining challenges from three aspects: controlled growth, postsynthesis sorting, and characterization techniques. In the growth part, we focus on the mechanism of chirality-controlled growth and catalyst design. In the sorting part, we organize and analyze existing literature based on sorting targets rather than methods. Since chirality assignment and quantification is essential in the study of selective preparation, we also include in the last part a comprehensive description and discussion of characterization techniques for SWCNTs. It is our view that even though progress made in this area is impressive, more efforts are still needed to develop both methodologies for preparing ultrapure (e.g., >99.99%) SWCNTs in large quantity and nondestructive fast characterization techniques with high spatial resolution for various nanotube samples.

Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nano-I-Beam for Structural Nano-mechanics

For years Carbon nano-tube has shown merits in industrial applications including high structural strength-to-weight ratio. However, from structural mechanics perspective the tube geometrical cross-section is less favored for providing high structural stiffness and strength. Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nano-I-Beam is thus introduced for improved Structural Nano-mechanics. It has been found that both Wide Flange Nano-I-Beam and Equal Flange & Web Nano-I-beam provide higher structural stiffness and less induced stress and thus longer service life than Nano-Tube. It has been also found that Wide Flange Nano-I-Beam provides higher structural stiffness and less induced stress and thus longer service life than Equal Flange & Web Nano-I-beam. A thermodynamic model of the growth of nano-tubes accounting for vibrational entropy is presented. The results have cost-effectively potential benefit in applications such as nano-heat engines & sensors.

Enhancing hydrogen evolution activity by doping and tuning the curvature of manganese-embedded carbon nanotubes

Doping heteroatoms (Mn and N) and tuning the curvature of carbon nanotubes could efficiently elevate the C p-band center, lower the absolute electrode potential, and thus enhance the HER performance.

Can single-walled carbon nanotube diameter be defined by catalyst particle diameter?

The need of designing and controlling single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) properties is a challenge in a growing nanomaterials-related industry. Recently, great progress has been made experimentally to selectively control SWCNT diameter and chirality. However, there is not yet a complete understanding of the synthesis process and there is a lack of mathematical models that explain nucleation and diameter selectivity of stable carbon allotropes. Here, in-situ analysis of chemical vapor deposition SWCNT synthesis confirms that the nanoparticle to nanotube diameter ratio varies with the catalyst particle size. It is found that the tube diameter is larger than that of the particle below a specific size (d_c ≈ 2nm) and above this value is smaller than particle diameters. To explain these observations, we develop a statistical mechanics based model that correlates possible energy states of a nascent tube with the catalyst particle size. This model incorporates the equilibrium distance between the nucleating SWCNT layer and the metal catalyst (e.g. Fe, Co, Ni) evaluated with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The theoretical analysis explains and predicts the observed correlation between tube and solid particle diameters during growth of supported SWCNTs. This work also brings together previous observations related to the stability condition for SWCNT nucleation. Tests of the model against various published data sets and our own experimental results show good agreement, making it a promising tool for evaluating SWCNT synthesis processes.

Selective growth of chirality-enriched semiconducting carbon nanotubes by using bimetallic catalysts from salt precursors

Bimetallic catalysts play important roles in the selective growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Using the simple salts (NH4)6W7O24·6H2O and Co(CH3COO)2·4H2O as precursors, tungsten-cobalt catalysts were prepared. The catalysts were composed of W6Co7 intermetallic compounds and tungsten-dispersed cobalt. With the increase of the W/Co ratio in the precursors, the content of W6Co7 was increased. Because the W6Co7 intermetallic compound can enable the chirality specified growth of SWNTs, the selectivity of the resulting SWNTs is improved at a higher W/Co ratio. At a W/Co ratio of 6 : 4 and under optimized chemical vapor deposition conditions, we realized the direct growth of semiconducting SWNTs with the purity of ∼96%, in which ∼62% are (14, 4) tubes. Using salts as precursors to prepare tungsten-cobalt bimetallic catalysts is flexible and convenient. This offers an efficient pathway for the large-scale preparation of chirality enriched semiconducting SWNTs.

Fabrication of an immunosensor for early and ultrasensitive determination of human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in myocardial infraction and breast cancer patients

Sensitive detection of biomarkers will mean accurate and early diagnosis of diseases. A tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has a crucial role in many cardiovascular diseases and it is related to many processes such as angiogenesis in cancer cells. Therefore, sensitive determination of tPA is important in diagnosis and clinical research. tPA monoclonal antibody was covalently attached onto single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using diimide-activated imidation coupling. Functionalized SWCNTs were immobilized onto a glassy carbon electrode and the modification process was investigated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), SEM, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) in a scan rate of 100 mVs^-1 was studied and comparisons were made between the modified glassy carbon electrodes (immobilized with antibodies) as a working electrode before and after the formation of tPA-antibody complex. Results of the SDS-PAGE demonstrated that the antibody was covalently and site directly attached to the SWCNTs. The fabricated biosensor provided a good linear response range from 0.1 to 1.0 ng mL^-1 with a low detection limit of 0.026 ng mL^-1. The immunosensor showed selectivity, reproducibility, good sensitivity, and acceptable stability. Satisfactory results were observed for early and sensitive determination of tPA in human serum samples. For the first time, such specific biosensor is currently being fabricated for tPA in our laboratories and successfully could determine tPA in myocardial infraction and breast cancer patients. Graphical abstract Fabricated biosensor for determination of tPA.