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Few-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A Better Candidate for
Bulk Applications than Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Few-Walled carbon nanotubes (FWNTs), a unique type of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with generally 2 to 5 layers of sidewalls and diameters less than 10 nm have been synthesized in our lab by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. It was found that the FWNTs have enhanced electron field emission characteristics compared to the other types of nanotubes, with a low threshold field for emission and improved emission stability because of their high structural perfection resulting from the high growth temperature. It high current stability are even better than single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Moreover, unlike SWNTs, even after covalent functionalization, the FWNTs can keep their structural integrity of the inner tubes, thus the FWNTs are believed to be a better candidate for polymer reinforcement than either SWNTs or the more defective MWNTs. So in many aspects, FWNTs are better candidates than both SWNTs and MWNTs for bulk applications. The method of synthesis, purification and the effect of growth condition on the diameter, structural perfection and number of walls will be discussed in the talk.
* PhD, Chemistry, Harvard University, 1996
* MSc, Chemistry, Shandong University, P.R. China, 1990
* BSc, Chemistry, Shandong University, P.R. China, 1987
AWARDS AND HONORS
2002 DuPont Young Professor Award
2002 Outstanding Oversea Young Investigator Award from NSF-China
2000 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities
1999 Robert A. Welch Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
FIVE PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS MOST RELEVANT TO THE PROPOSED RESEARCH:
1. “Microwave Impedance Spectroscopy of Dense Carbon Nanotube Bundles”, Alexander Tselev, Michael Woodson, Cheng Qian, and Jie Liu, Nano Lett., Accepted (2007)
2. “Evolution of Transport Regimes in Carbon Nanotube Quantum Dots”, A. Makarovski, J. Liu, and G. Finkelstein, Physical Review Letters 99, Art No. 066801 (2007).
3. “Synthesis of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Using Iron Disilicide as Catalyst”, Hang Qi, Cheng Qian, Jie Liu, Nano Lett, 7(8), 2417-2421 (2007).
4. “Synthesis of High Purity Few-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Ethanol/Methanol Mixture”, Hang Qi, Cheng Qian, Jie Liu, Chemistry of Materials, 18, 5691-5695 (2006)
5. "Growth of millimeter-long and horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes on flat substrates", S.M. Huang, X.Y. Cai and J. Liu, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 125(19), 5636-5637 (2003).
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