UC Davis

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/MgO composite films were fabricated by growing carbon nanotubes while simultaneously sintering a MgO film. The effect of iron and molybdenum concentrations in liquid catalysts and the effect of the density of carbon nanotubes in the composite films on the quality of the films were investigated. Microstructure analysis showed that SWNTs were uniformly grown in the MgO film. The presence of a controlled amount of carbon nanotubes in MgO films is believed to greatly improve the performance of the composite films as well as impart new functions. These MgO/nanotube composite films are expected to have a very high second-electron emission, which is very desirable for use in vacuum electronic devices.