Purification of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes by HCl Treatment and Analysis of the Field Emission Property

High-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized by catalytic decomposition of $C_2H_2$ using Fe-Mo/MgO catalyst at $800^{\circ}C$. The as-synthesized SWCNTs typically occurred in the form of a bundle with a diameter of 10~20 nm together with amorphous carbon and catalytic impurities, which were removed by a two-step purification process consisting of oxidation and an acid treatment. The oxidation step, using an $O_2$-Ar mixture at $380^{\circ}C$ for 5 hr in a vertical-type furnace and a $HNO_3$ treatment at $100^{\circ}C$ for one hour, was utilized to remove the amorphous carbon particles. Subsequently, metallic catalysts were removed in HCl at room temperature for 5 hr under magnetic stirring. The SWCNT suspension was prepared by dispersing the purified SWCNTs in an aqueous sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate solution with horn-type sonication. This was then air-sprayed on glass to fabricate CNT field emitters. The samples had a turn-on field value of 4 V/${\mu}m$ and a current density of 0.67 mA/$cm^2$ at 9 V/${\mu}m$. Increasing the HCl treatment time improved the field emission properties.

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