Electron field emission from composite electrodes of carbon nanotubes-boron-doped diamond and carbon felts

Abstract

The electron field emission of carbon nanotube (CNT)/boron-doped diamond (BDD)/carbon felt electrodes (CNT/BDD/felt) have been investigated. The composite electrode was initially prepared with the growth of BDD on carbon felt and the subsequent growth of CNT by chemical decomposition of methanol. The composite electrodes were characterised using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. For the CNT/BDD/felt samples, the electron field emission was observed at macroscopic fields as low as 1.1 V μ m-1. The emission current versus time plot shows significant potential for future field emission applications. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.