Enhanced field emission properties of hydrogenated tetrahedral amorphous carbon/carbon nanotubes nanostructures

Abstract

A triple layered nanocomposite consisting of a hydrogenated layer on the surface of a core/shelled carbon nanotube/tetrahedral amorphous carbon structure was studied. The threshold field for electron emission was lowered from 4.45 to 4.01 V/μm and even lower to 2.64 V/μm as each layer was added. Derived from the Fowler-Nordheim plots, their corresponding barrier height ratios were estimated as 1.45:1.39:1, implying a proportional influence of the barrier height to the emission threshold fields. With hydrogen termination, the absorption of a water layer from the atmosphere may be the reason for the enhanced emission. © 2010 The Electrochemical Society.