Controllable synthesis of single-and double-walled carbon nanotubes from petroleum coke and their application to solar cells

Kai Xu, Yongfeng Li, Fan Yang, Wang Yang, Liqiang Zhang, Chunming Xu, Toshiro Kaneko, Rikizo Hatakeyama

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Single-and double-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and DWCNTs) have been controllably synthesized by an arc discharge in different atmosphere using petroleum coke as carbon source. The morphology and properties of two kinds of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesized with Fe as catalyst were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. In the He gas atmosphere only SWCNTs were found to be synthesized by arc discharge in contrast to the case in Ar gas atmosphere in which only DWCNTs were formed, In addition, properties of solar cells based on both kinds of CNTs and n-type Si are examined under illumination of light emission diode (LED). It is found that the performance of solar cells depends significantly on the type of CNTs, i.e., SWCNTs-based solar cells show better performance under LED illumination with wavelengths in the range of 400-940 nm than the case of DWCNTs which exhibit high performance under illumination of the 1310 nm infrared light.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)511-519
Number of pages9
JournalCarbon
Volume68
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Mar

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry(all)
  • Materials Science(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Controllable synthesis of single-and double-walled carbon nanotubes from petroleum coke and their application to solar cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this