Effect of high-energy ball milling on morphology and field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

The effects of grinding for different time in a vibrating mill with the mixture of Fe powder and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were studied. The morphology and structure of as-ground MWNTs were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and High-resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM). The results showed that some closed ends of MWNTs were broken while ground for 8 hours, and the rate of broken ends increased with grinding time. The Field emission measurements demonstrated that the turn-on field of the sample decreased from 4.0 to 2.6 V/μm after grinding.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.