The roles of ruthenium nanoparticles decorated on thin multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the enhancement of field emission properties

Abstract

The roles of metal nanoparticles (NPs) decorated on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the enhancement of field emission properties were investigated by measuring the work functions (WF), densities of state (DOS), turn-on fields, current densities, and sizes of NPs. RuO2 was deposited on CNTs and reduced to Ru by annealing at elevated temperatures. The WF decreased during reduction, and integrated DOS increased after the formation of Ru NPs. Consequently, the turn-on field showed strong correlation with the WF, and the shape of the Ru NPs had a more significant impact on current density than the WF and DOS. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3675460]