Electric-field-induced microstructure modulation of carbon nanotubes for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

The growth direction, morphology and microstructure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) play key roles for their potential applications in electronic and energy storage devices. However, effective synthesis of CNTs in high crystallinity and desired microstructure still remains a tremendous challenge. Here we introduce an electric field for controlling the microstructure formation of CNTs. It reveals that the electric field not only make CNTs aligned parallel but also improve the density of CNTs. Especially, the microstructures of CNTs gradually change under electrical field. That is, graphite sheets are transformed from the “herringbone” structure to a highly crystalline structure, facilitating the transportation of electrons. Due to the improved aligned growth direction, high density and highly crystalline microstructure, the electrochemical performance of CNTs is greatly improved. When the CNTs are applied in supercapacitors, they present a high specific capacitance of 237 F/g, three times higher than that of the CNTs prepared without electrical field. Such microstructure modulation of CNTs by electric field would help to construct high performance electronic and energy storage devices.

Keywords

carbon nanotube / electric field / microstructure control / supercapacitor / electrochemical performance

References

[1] Iijima S. Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon. Nature, 1991, 354(6348): 56–58

[2] Yu D, Goh K, Wang H, . Scalable synthesis of hierarchically structured carbon nanotube-graphene fibres for capacitive energy storage. Nature Nanotechnology, 2014, 9(7): 555–562

[3] Barsan O A, Hoffmann G G, van der Ven L G J, . Single-walled carbon nanotube networks: the influence of individual tube-tube contacts on the large-scale conductivity of polymer composites. Advanced Functional Materials, 2016, 26(24): 4377–4385

[4] Foroughi J, Spinks G M, Wallace G G, . Torsional carbon nanotube artificial muscles. Science, 2011, 334(6055): 494–497

[5] Barbero D R, Boulanger N, Ramstedt M, . Nano-engineering of SWNT networks for enhanced charge transport at ultralow nanotube loading. Advanced Materials, 2014, 26(19): 3111–3117

[6] Thess A, Lee R, Nikolaev P, . Crystalline ropes of metallic carbon nanotubes. Science, 1996, 273(5274): 483–487

[7] Bao Q, Zhang J, Pan C, . Recoverable photoluminescence of flame-synthesized multiwalled carbon nanotubes and its intensity enhancement at 240 K. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007, 111(28): 10347–10352

[8] AuBuchon J F, Chen L H, Gapin A I, . Electric-field-guided growth of carbon nanotubes during DC plasma-enhanced CVD. Chemical Vapor Deposition, 2006, 12(6): 370–374

[9] Shiratori Y, Hiraoka H, Takeuchi Y, . One-step formation of aligned carbon nanotube field emitters at 400 °C. Applied Physics Letters, 2003, 82(15): 2485–2487

[10] Domingues D, Logakis E, Skordos A A. The use of an electric field in the preparation of glass fibre/epoxy composites containing carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 2012, 50(7): 2493–2503

[11] Zhang Y, Chang A, Cao J, . Electric-field-directed growth of aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 79(19): 3155–3157

[12] Bao Q, Pan C. Electric field induced growth of well aligned carbon nanotubes from ethanol flames. Nanotechnology, 2006, 17(4): 1016–1021

[13] Monti M, Natali M, Torre L, . The alignment of single walled carbon nanotubes in an epoxy resin by applying a DC electric field. Carbon, 2012, 50(7): 2453–2464

[14] Tsakadze Z L, Levchenko I, Ostrikov K, . Plasma-assisted self-organized growth of uniform carbon nanocone arrays. Carbon, 2007, 45(10): 2022–2030

[15] Kanayama K, Ikesugi K, Shimanaka K, . Field induced alignment of carbon nanotubes directly grown on metal tips. Diamond and Related Materials, 2012, 24: 83–87

[16] Romyen N, Thongyai S, Praserthdam P. Alignment of carbon nanotubes in polyimide under electric and magnetic fields. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2012, 123(6): 3470–3475

[17] Yue Q, Shao Z, Chang S, . Adsorption of gas molecules on monolayer MoS₂ and effect of applied electric field. Nanoscale Research Letters, 2013, 8(1): 425

[18] Ren J, Li L, Chen C, . Twisting carbon nanotube fibers for both wire-shaped micro-supercapacitor and micro-battery. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25(8): 1155–1159, 1224

[19] Lota G, Fic K, Frackowiak E. Carbon nanotubes and their composites in electrochemical applications. Energy & Environmental Science, 2011, 4(5): 1592–1605

[20] Zhang J, Pan C. Magnetic-field-controlled alignment of carbon nanotubes from flames and its growth mechanism. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2008, 112(35): 13470–13474

[21] Luo C, Fu Q, Pan C. Strong magnetic field-assisted growth of carbon nanofibers and its microstructural transformation mechanism. Scientific Reports, 2015, 5(1): 9062

[22] Bao Q, Zhang H, Pan C. Electric-field-induced microstructural transformation of carbon nanotubes. Applied Physics Letters, 2006, 89(6): 063124 (3 pages)

[23] Merkulov V I, Melechko A V, Guillorn M A, . Alignment mechanism of carbon nanofibers produced by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition. Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 79(18): 2970–2972

[24] Merchan-Merchan W, Saveliev A V, Kennedy L A. High-rate flame synthesis of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes using electric field control. Carbon, 2004, 42(3): 599–608

[25] Ma Y, Li P, Sedloff J W, . Conductive graphene fibers for wire-shaped supercapacitors strengthened by unfunctionalized few-walled carbon nanotubes. ACS Nano, 2015, 9(2): 1352–1359

[26] Choi C, Kim K M, Kim K J, . Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors. Nature Communications, 2016, 7(1): 13811

[27] Chen X, Qiu L, Ren J, . Novel electric double-layer capacitor with a coaxial fiber structure. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25(44): 6436–6441

[28] Lee J A, Shin M K, Kim S H, . Ultrafast charge and discharge biscrolled yarn supercapacitors for textiles and microdevices. Nature Communications, 2013, 4(1): 1970

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation (Grant Nos. JCYJ20170306165336143 and JCYJ20180507181702150).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2019 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature