Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Authors

Yuehai Yang, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Physics

First Advisor's Name

Wenzhi Li

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Arvind Agarwal

Third Advisor's Name

Yesim Darici

Fourth Advisor's Name

Xuewen Wang

Keywords

Carbon Nanotube, Chemical Vapor Deposition, Radial Modulus, Biosensing

Date of Defense

5-17-2013

Abstract

Despite the tremendous application potentials of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) proposed by researchers in the last two decades, efficient experimental techniques and methods are still in need for controllable production of CNTs in large scale, and for conclusive characterizations of their properties in order to apply CNTs in high accuracy engineering. In this dissertation, horizontally well-aligned high quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have been successfully synthesized on St-cut quartz substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Effective radial moduli (E_radial) of these straight SWCNTs have been measured by using well-calibrated tapping mode and contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was found that the measured E_radial decreased from 57 to 9 GPa as the diameter of the SWCNTs increased from 0.92 to 1.91 nm. The experimental results were consistent with the recently reported theoretical simulation data. The method used in this mechanical property test can be easily applied to measure the mechanical properties of other low-dimension nanostructures, such as nanowires and nanodots. The characterized sample is also an ideal platform for electrochemical tests. The electrochemical activities of redox probes Fe(CN)₆^3-/4-, Ru(NH₃)₆³⁺, Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ and protein cytochrome c have been studied on these pristine thin films by using aligned SWCNTs as working electrodes. A simple and high performance electrochemical sensor was fabricated. Flow sensing capability of the device has been tested for detecting neurotransmitter dopamine at physiological conditions with the presence of Bovine serum albumin. Good sensitivity, fast response, high stability and anti-fouling capability were observed. Therefore, the fabricated sensor showed great potential for sensing applications in complicated solution.

Identifier

FI13080509

Recommended Citation

Yang, Yuehai, "Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition" (2013). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 946.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/946