The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as transparent conducting films is one of the most promising aspects of CNT-based applications due to their high electrical conductivity, transparency, and flexibility. However, despite many efforts in this field, the conductivity of carbon nanotube network films at high transmittance is still not sufficient to replace the present electrodes, indium tin oxide (ITO), due to the contact resistances and semi-conducting nanotubes of the nanotube network films. Many studies have attempted to overcome such problems by the chemical doping and hybridization of conducting guest components by various methods, including acid treatment, deposition of metal nanoparticles, and the creation of a composite of conducting polymers. This review focuses on recent advances in surface-modified carbon nanotube networks for transparent conducting film applications. Fabrication methods will be described, and the stability of carbon nanotube network films prepared by various methods will be demonstrated.

We investigate thermal behavior of transparent film heaters (TFH) made of single-walled carbon nanotubes. We fabricate the TFH by using the spray coating method. We studied the temperature dependence of the electrical resistance of the TFH in terms of Joule and external heating in various gas environments. Test results show that the effect of the electrical current through the TFH on the temperature dependence of the electrical resistance is not important and that the humidity and the degree of vacuum significantly affect the shape of the resistance-temperature curve. We discuss the physical meanings underlying the experimental results and how to make use of these findings. This study improves the understanding of the heating effect on electrical conductance of the TFH made of single-walled carbon nanotubes which could be a good candidate for the heater in many applications requiring both transparency and heating function.

A zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO NW)-embedded Schottky diode was fabricated for UV detection. Two types of devices were prepared. The ZnO NW was positioned onto asymmetric metal electrodes (Al and Pt) for a Schottky device or symmetric metal electrodes (Al and Al) for an ohmic device, respectively. The Schottky device provided a rectifying current flow and was more sensitive to UV illumination than the ohmic device. The Schottky barrier plays an important role for UV detection by a UV-induced barrier reduction effect. The fabrication of the ZnO NW-embedded Schottky diode and the UV reaction mechanism are discussed in light of the UV light-induced Schottky barrier reduction effect.

We report a simple, repeatable, reliable method and influential conditions for assembling a single multiwalled nanotube ͑MWNT͒ to the end of a metal coated atomic force microscope ͑AFM͒ tip. The influential conditions consist of the frequency and magnitude of the induced voltage, the concentration of carbon nanotube ͑CNT͒ solution and the shape of the tip's apex. The optimal experimental factors needed for a single MWNT deposition using the dielectrophoretic force were obtained through repeated experiments. Applying an electric field of 0.6 to 0.7 V pp / m at 5 MHz, dropping a droplet of the transparent MWNT solution dispersed in the ethanol in a range of 0.5 to 1 ᐉ, we obtained a CNT AFM tip with just a single MWNT attached. Furthermore, we found that the curvature of the tip's apex is a great influential factor in a single MWNT-attached tip. We expect that the appropriate size of curvature can improve the yield of single MWNT attachment. The effectiveness of the MWNT-attached AFM tip is demonstrated by direct comparison with AFM images of a bare AFM tip for a standard sample.

No abstract