Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak

Composites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polyethylene oxide and hybrid films of MWCNT with oxide materials (TiO2 and ZnO) were prepared for alcohol vapor sensing and field electron emission studies. The justification for fabricating such materials was to overcome the problem assoc...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Faridah, Abdul Razak
Format: Thesis
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/4/faridah.pdf
_version_ 1848773212920348672
author Faridah, Abdul Razak
author_facet Faridah, Abdul Razak
author_sort Faridah, Abdul Razak
building UM Research Repository
collection Online Access
description Composites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polyethylene oxide and hybrid films of MWCNT with oxide materials (TiO2 and ZnO) were prepared for alcohol vapor sensing and field electron emission studies. The justification for fabricating such materials was to overcome the problem associated with using pure MWCNTs where adhesions to substrates surfaces were generally poor. Poly(ethylene oxide)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PEO/MWCNT) composites were fabricated using the solution cast technique and characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity analyses. Results of the analysis showed good distribution of MWCNT in the composite which were used as alcohol vapor sensors. It was discovered that a poly(ethylene oxide)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PEO/MWCNT) composite provided the best sensitivity for both ethanol and methanol vapor with detection limits down to 10 ppm. The effect of MWCNT loading the composites on the sensitivity to ethanol and acetone sensing showed an increase in the sensitivity with decreasing loading and increasing in dynamic range with increase loading. This shows that the amount of MWCNT loading will determine the application trade off, either for high sensitivity or high dynamic range. Hybrid material films of TiO2 and ZnO with MWCNT were fabricated using the electrophoresis process on silver substrates. FESEM and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the deposited composite materials. Field electron emission properties were studied as a function film thickness and compared with pure MWCNT results. For all films, the maximum current densities were observed with the thinnest films deposited for 1 minute. This was due to the shielding effect in the thicker films. Also, the inclusion of the oxide materials into the films resulted in significant increase in the maximum current densities compare to iv the corresponding pure MWCNT films. This is evident that the oxide particles acted as spacers which spread the MWCNT and reduced the shield effect.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T13:38:49Z
format Thesis
id um-6613
institution University Malaya
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T13:38:49Z
publishDate 2016
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling um-66132019-10-23T19:10:49Z Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak Faridah, Abdul Razak Q Science (General) T Technology (General) Composites of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polyethylene oxide and hybrid films of MWCNT with oxide materials (TiO2 and ZnO) were prepared for alcohol vapor sensing and field electron emission studies. The justification for fabricating such materials was to overcome the problem associated with using pure MWCNTs where adhesions to substrates surfaces were generally poor. Poly(ethylene oxide)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PEO/MWCNT) composites were fabricated using the solution cast technique and characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity analyses. Results of the analysis showed good distribution of MWCNT in the composite which were used as alcohol vapor sensors. It was discovered that a poly(ethylene oxide)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (PEO/MWCNT) composite provided the best sensitivity for both ethanol and methanol vapor with detection limits down to 10 ppm. The effect of MWCNT loading the composites on the sensitivity to ethanol and acetone sensing showed an increase in the sensitivity with decreasing loading and increasing in dynamic range with increase loading. This shows that the amount of MWCNT loading will determine the application trade off, either for high sensitivity or high dynamic range. Hybrid material films of TiO2 and ZnO with MWCNT were fabricated using the electrophoresis process on silver substrates. FESEM and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the deposited composite materials. Field electron emission properties were studied as a function film thickness and compared with pure MWCNT results. For all films, the maximum current densities were observed with the thinnest films deposited for 1 minute. This was due to the shielding effect in the thicker films. Also, the inclusion of the oxide materials into the films resulted in significant increase in the maximum current densities compare to iv the corresponding pure MWCNT films. This is evident that the oxide particles acted as spacers which spread the MWCNT and reduced the shield effect. 2016 Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/4/faridah.pdf Faridah, Abdul Razak (2016) Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak. PhD thesis, University of Malaya. http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/
spellingShingle Q Science (General)
T Technology (General)
Faridah, Abdul Razak
Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title_full Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title_fullStr Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title_full_unstemmed Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title_short Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / Faridah Abdul Razak
title_sort multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their composites as alcohol sensors and field electron emission cathodes / faridah abdul razak
topic Q Science (General)
T Technology (General)
url http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/
http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/6613/4/faridah.pdf