Untitled

Electrical applications for novel carbon nanotube morphologies: Does function follow shape?

“…The Y-junction region, for instance, can possess a positive charge 37 due to the presence of topological defects, 40 viz., by the formation of non-hexagonal polygons (e.g., pentagon-heptagon pair defects) to satisfy the local bond order, 41 where delocalization of the electrons over an extended area is equivalent to a net positive charge, and also due to catalyst particles formed during synthesis. 42,43 This charge and the induced asymmetry is analogous to a "gating" action that could be responsible for electrical modulation and switching.…”

“…16,43 The circuit arrangement for probing the Y-junctions is shown in Figure 5b and the nonlinear character-istics are shown in Figure 5c. The possibility of using the CNT Y-junctions for switching applications as an electrical inverter analogous to earlier 34,36,45 Yswitch studies was explored.…”

“…The postulated growth sequence of a Y-junction nanotube 43. (a) Initial seeding of a straight nanotube through conventional catalytic synthesis, (b) titanium-doped iron catalyst particles (obtained from decomposition of a ferrocene and C 10 H 10 N 4 Ti mixture) attach (c) to the sidewalls and (d,e) nucleate the side branches.…”