Flexible Transparent Films Based on Nanocomposite Networks of Polyaniline and Carbon Nanotubes for High‐Performance Gas Sensing

A flexible, transparent, chemical gas sensor is assembled from a transparent conducting film of carbon nanotube (CNT) networks that are coated with hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) nanorods. The nanocomposite film is synthesized by in‐situ, chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in a functional multiwalled CNT (FMWCNT) suspension and is simultaneously deposited onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. An as‐prepared flexible transparent chemical gas sensor exhibits excellent transparency of 85.0% at 550 nm using the PANI/FMWCNT nanocomposite film prepared over a reaction time of 8 h. The sensor also shows good flexibility, without any obvious decrease in performance after 500 bending/extending cycles, demonstrating high‐performance, portable gas sensing at room temperature. This superior performance could be attributed to the improved electron transport and collection due to the CNTs, resulting in reliable and efficient sensing, as well as the high surface‐to‐volume ratio of the hierarchically nanostructured composites. The excellent transparency, improved sensing performance, and superior flexibility of the device, may enable the integration of this simple, low‐cost, gas sensor into handheld flexible transparent electronic circuitry and optoelectronic devices.     

碳纳米管与石墨烯协同改性天然石墨及其电化学性能

以碳纳米管和氧化石墨烯为原料,二者按5∶3混合超声分散再高温还原制备碳纳米管/石墨烯/天然石墨(CNTs/rGO/NG)锂离子复合负极材料。采用扫描电镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、红外光谱(FTIR)和电化学测试等分析技术对复合材料的形貌、结构、电化学进行表征。结果表明:石墨烯和碳纳米管在天然石墨表面形成三维立体网络结构。与纯天然石墨相比,CNTs/rGO/NG复合材料具有良好的倍率性能和循环寿命,在0.1C时首次放电比容量为479mAh/g,可逆容量达473mAh/g,循环100次后容量为439.5mAh/g,容量保持率为92%,在0.5,1,5C不同电流倍率时容量依次为457,433,394mAh/g。     

Interactions and Chemical Transformations of Coronene Inside and Outside Carbon Nanotubes

By exposing flat and curved carbon surfaces to coronene, a variety of van der Waals hybrid heterostructures are prepared, including coronene encapsulated in carbon nanotubes, and coronene and dicoronylene adsorbed on nanotubes or graphite via π–π interactions. The structure of the final product is determined by the temperature of the experiment and the curvature of the carbon surface. While at temperatures below and close to the sublimation point of coronene, nanotubes with suitable diameters are filled with single coronene molecules, at higher temperatures additional dimerization and oligomerization of coronene occurs on the surface of carbon nanotubes. The fact that dicoronylene and possible higher oligomers are formed at lower temperatures than expected for vapor‐phase polymerization indicates the active role of the carbon surface used primarily as template. Removal of adsorbed species from the nanotube surface is of utmost importance for reliable characterization of encapsulated molecules: it is demonstrated that the green fluorescence attributed previously to encapsulated coronene is instead caused by dicoronylene adsorbed on the surface which can be solubilized and removed using surfactants. After removing most of the adsorbed layer, a combination of Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy was employed to follow the transformation dynamics of coronene molecules inside nanotubes.     

碳纳米管制备石墨烯片及其储锂性能研究

用多壁碳纳米管作为起始原料,通过化学氧化、离心分离、高温膨胀和超声剥离等步骤制备了石墨烯片。采用透射电子显微镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)对石墨烯片的形貌和结构进行分析。通过恒流充放电和交流阻抗测试研究了石墨烯片作为锂离子电池负极材料的储锂性能。结果表明,石墨烯片在50mA/g的电流密度下,首次可逆比容量为859mAh/g,经过50次循环后比容量仍保持在410mAh/g,远高于碳纳米管(217mAh/g),表明石墨烯片具有优异的储锂性能。     

The Regulating Role of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene in Lithium‐Ion and Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

The ever‐increasing demands for batteries with high energy densities to power the portable electronics with increased power consumption and to advance vehicle electrification and grid energy storage have propelled lithium battery technology to a position of tremendous importance. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, known with many appealing properties, are investigated intensely for improving the performance of lithium‐ion (Li‐ion) and lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. However, a general and objective understanding of their actual role in Li‐ion and Li–S batteries is lacking. It is recognized that CNTs and graphene are not appropriate active lithium storage materials, but are more like a regulator: they do not electrochemically react with lithium ions and electrons, but serve to regulate the lithium storage behavior of a specific electroactive material and increase the range of applications of a lithium battery. First, metrics for the evaluation of lithium batteries are discussed, based on which the regulating role of CNTs and graphene in Li‐ion and Li–S batteries is comprehensively considered from fundamental electrochemical reactions to electrode structure and integral cell design. Finally, perspectives on how CNTs and graphene can further contribute to the development of lithium batteries are presented.     

25th Anniversary Article: Chemically Modified/Doped Carbon Nanotubes & Graphene for Optimized Nanostructures & Nanodevices

Outstanding pristine properties of carbon nanotubes and graphene have limited the scope for real‐life applications without precise controllability of the material structures and properties. This invited article to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Advanced Materials reviews the current research status in the chemical modification/doping of carbon nanotubes and graphene and their relevant applications with optimized structures and properties. A broad aspect of specific correlations between chemical modification/doping schemes of the graphitic carbons with their novel tunable material properties is summarized. An overview of the practical benefits from chemical modification/doping, including the controllability of electronic energy level, charge carrier density, surface energy and surface reactivity for diverse advanced applications is presented, namely flexible electronics/optoelectronics, energy conversion/storage, nanocomposites, and environmental remediation, with a particular emphasis on their optimized interfacial structures and properties. Future research direction is also proposed to surpass existing technological bottlenecks and realize idealized graphitic carbon applications.     

Electronic Property Modification of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Encapsulation of Sulfur‐Terminated Graphene Nanoribbons

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as cylindrical reactor vessels has become a viable means for synthesizing graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). While previous studies demonstrated that the size and edge structure of the as‐produced GNRs are strongly dependent on the diameter of the tubes and the nature of the precursor, the atomic interactions between GNRs and surrounding CNTs and their effect on the electronic properties of the overall system are not well understood. Here, it is shown that the functional terminations of the GNR edges can have a strong influence on the electronic structure of the system. Analysis of SWCNTs before and after the insertion of sulfur‐terminated GNRs suggests a metallization of the majority of semiconducting SWCNTs. This is indicated by changes in the radial breathing modes and the D and G band Raman features, as well as UV–vis–NIR absorption spectra. The variation in resonance conditions of the nanotubes following GNR insertion make direct (n,m) assignment by Raman spectroscopy difficult. Thus, density functional theory calculations of representative GNR/SWCNT systems are performed. The results confirm significant changes in the band structure, including the development of a metallic state in the semiconducting SWCNTs due to sulfur/tube interactions. The GNR‐induced metallization of semiconducting SWCNTs may offer a means of controlling the electronic properties of bulk CNT samples and eliminate the need for a physical separation of semiconducting and metallic tubes.     

滴涂法制备石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜及其表征

以化学气相沉积(CVD)法制备的石墨烯和碳纳米管的邻二氯苯分散液为原料, 采用滴涂法制备石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜, 用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、拉曼光谱(Raman)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)对其形貌和结构进行表征。实验发现随着碳纳米管分散液浓度的增大, 复合薄膜结构中碳纳米管的面密度线性增大。利用紫外-可见光谱仪和四探针测试仪表征了不同碳纳米管浓度下复合薄膜的透光率及其薄层电阻, 结果表明: 随着碳纳米管浓度的增大, 复合薄膜的透光率及其薄层电阻都将减小, 当碳纳米管浓度为0.1 mg/mL时, 复合薄膜的透光率(550 nm)及其薄层电阻分别为92.18%和0.998 kΩ/□。实验通过调节碳纳米管浓度制备得到不同性能的石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜, 该复合薄膜在透明电极、场效应晶体管和激光锁模等方面具有潜在应用。     

预置镍化学气相沉积法制备定向碳纳米管(英文)

采用化学气相沉积法(CVD),在溅射了镍薄膜的硅基底上制备了定向碳纳米管薄膜。对镍薄膜的氨气预处理过程及其机理进行了研究。结果发现预处理后的岛状区域随着薄膜厚度的增加而增加,纳米粒子区域的变化则与之相反。对5nm的镍薄膜进行预处理能获得细化和均匀分布的纳米粒子,有利于定向碳纳米管的生长。碳纳米管的生长过程及其细微结构与温度有很大关系。碳源的分解、碳原子在催化剂内部的扩散以及催化剂粒子的团聚三者之间的竞争决定了碳纳米管的生长情况。本文分析了碳纳米管的顶部生长模式及该模式下催化剂粒子的形态变化。