Field emission characteristics of CNFB-CNT hybrid material grown by one-step MPCVD

A hybrid material consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanoflake balls (CNFBs) was successfully synthesized by microwave-plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition using a H-2/CH4/N-2 ratio of 4:1:2 at 80 Torr for 30 min. The precursor used was a sol-gel solution containing ferric nitrate, tetrabutyl titanate, and n-propanol. The carbon hybrid material (CNFB-CNT) exhibited excellent field emission properties, with its turn-on field being 1.77 V/mu m. It also showed two:field enhancement factors (1536 and 7932) for different electric fields. The emission current density of the hybrid remained higher than 0.65 mA/cm(2) for more than 50 h and was 0.82 mA/cm(2) even after 50 h of continuous emission. Further, the field emission properties of the CNFB-CNT hybrid were better than those of other single-structured carbon nanomaterials.(CNTs, CNFs, or CNFBs).Therefore, the CNFB-CNT hybrid material should be a promising candidate for use in high-performance field emitters. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.