Highly Conductive Doped Hybrid Carbon Nanotube-Graphene Wires

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Sep 11;11(36):33207-33220. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b08198. Epub 2019 Aug 26.

Abstract

The following paper explores the nature of electronic transport in a hybrid carbon nanotube-graphene conductive network. These networks may have a tremendous impact on the future formation of new electrical conductors, batteries, and supercapacitors, as well as many other electronic and electrical applications. The experiments described show that the deposition of graphene nanoflakes within a carbon nanotube network improves both its electrical conductivity and its current-carrying capacity. They also show that the effectiveness of doping is enhanced. To explain the effects observed in the hybrid carbon nanotube-graphene conductive network, a theoretical model was developed. The theory explains that graphenes are not merely effective conductive fillers of the carbon nanotube networks but also effective bridges that are able to introduce additional states at the Fermi level of carbon nanotubes.

Keywords: carbon nanotube fibers; carbon nanotube wires; carbon nanotubes; carbon nanotube−graphene hybrid materials; conductance; current; density functional theory; graphene flakes; halogen doping.