Nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes have been synthesized using pyrolysis and characterized by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The doped nanotubes are all metallic and exhibit strong electron donor states near the Fermi level. Using tight-binding and ab initio calculations, we observe that pyridine-like N structures are responsible for the metallic behavior and the prominent features near the Fermi level. These electron rich structures are the first example of n-type nanotubes, which could pave the way to real molecular hetero-junction devices.

Polyaniline/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite films have been fabricated. It is shown that the nanotubes affect the free N–H environment and quinoid units along the polymer backbone. A 10‐fold increase in conductivity is observed and elemental analysis indicates that the nanotubes compete with chloride ion during HCl doping (see Figure).

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Thermoelectrics are materials capable of the solid-state conversion between thermal and electrical energy. Carbon nanotube/polymer composite thin films are known to exhibit thermoelectric effects, however, have a low figure of merit (ZT) of 0.02. In this work, we demonstrate individual composite films of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT)/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) that are layered into multiple element modules that resemble a felt fabric. The thermoelectric voltage generated by these fabrics is the sum of contributions from each layer, resulting in increased power output. Since these fabrics have the potential to be cheaper, lighter, and more easily processed than the commonly used thermoelectric bismuth telluride, the overall performance of the fabric shows promise as a realistic alternative in a number of applications such as portable lightweight electronics.