Field emission from K doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In this paper, we report our experimental studies on the effects of potassium (K) doping on field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes films. Doping treatment was carried out with K in gas phase by vapor-solid reactions in a glass bulb. Field emission I-V curves were measured in situ. Compared with pristine films, the turn-on voltage for field emission from the processed sample decreased from 0.89 kV to 0.64 kV and field emission current increased by an order of magnitude. Resistance measurement and XPS analysis showed that n-doping mechanism played an important role in the field emission enhancement.