Experimental study on the field emission properties of metal oxide nanoparticle–decorated graphene

Abstract

In the present study, electron field emission efficiency of metal oxide nanoparticle–decorated graphene has been investigated. Tin oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticle–decorated hydrogen exfoliated graphene (SnO2/HEG and ZnO/HEG) have been synthesized by chemical reduction and sol-gel techniques, respectively. The samples have been characterized by x ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and electron microscopy techniques. SnO2/HEG and ZnO/HEG-based field emitters have been fabricated by dispersing them in a suitable solvent, followed by spin coating onto a carbon cloth. The field emission measurement of these vacuum-dried thin films has been carried out under a vacuum of 10–6 mbar, as has their long-term stability. The obtained turn-on voltage for ZnO/HEG and SnO2/HEG is around 0.88 and 0.93 V/μm with field enhancement factors of 6535 and 6367, respectively.