Recent Progress in the Preparation of Horizontally Ordered Carbon Nanotube Assemblies from Solution

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been reported for nearly 30 years, but commercial applications is rarely reported. Some reasons for this are related to the CNT properties, especially the electronic properties. Approximately 67% of semiconducting CNTs and 33% of metallic CNTs is usually achieved via a normal synthesis. However, it is difficult to implement a large-scale, ordered assembly of the CNTs. Currently, there are two mainstream methods for obtaining CNTs arrays. Although great progress has been made with direct growth methods using special techniques, there is still room to simultaneously increase both the density and purity. With the development of purification technology, solution assembly methods has attracted tremendous attention because of their ease of processability, low cost of fabrication, and ability to cover large areas at room temperature. In this review, we highlight solution assembly methods and divide the existing methods into three categories. In each category, we give a detailed description of the specific method including the mechanism, an illustration of the process, achievements, advantages, and disadvantages. Finally, the development trends and the research frontier according to our own understanding is described. In this review, a valuable reference for scholars engaged in related research is provided.

Accessing MHz Operation at 2 V with Field‐Effect Transistors Based on Printed Polymers on Plastic

“…Alternative flexible electronics technologies with higher carrier mobilities are being developed to achieve high‐frequency circuits, such as metal‐oxide semiconductors, carbon nanotubes, and 2D materials, reaching in some cases very high “transition frequency” f t, the highest operational frequency of a transistor, in the order of the GHz or tens of GHz . However such high performances are either achieved by resorting to conventional micro and nanofabrication techniques (i.e., e‐beam lithography, chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, and thermal evaporation), or pose scaling and processing issues (placing of high‐quality monolayers of 2D materials, alignment of carbon nanotubes, and process temperatures compatible with cheap plastic substrates for high‐quality metal‐oxide layers).…”

“…[12,13] Given the limited carrier mobility and the coarse resolution of printing tools, printed organic electronics has struggled to deliver the challenging performances required to enable wireless capabilities. [21,22] However such high performances are either achieved by resorting to conventional micro and nanofabrication techniques (i.e., e-beam lithography, chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, and thermal evaporation), or pose scaling and processing issues (placing of high-quality monolayers of 2D materials, [23] alignment of carbon nanotubes, [24][25][26][27] and process temperatures compatible with cheap plastic substrates for high-quality metal-oxide layers [28,29] ).It is therefore highly desirable to further develop printed and flexible organic electronics in order to achieve high-frequency operation. [21,22] However such high performances are either achieved by resorting to conventional micro and nanofabrication techniques (i.e., e-beam lithography, chemical vapor deposition, sputtering, and thermal evaporation), or pose scaling and processing issues (placing of high-quality monolayers of 2D materials, [23] alignment of carbon nanotubes, [24][25][26][27] and process temperatures compatible with cheap plastic substrates for high-quality metal-oxide layers [28,29] ).…”

Femtosecond Laser Irradiation of Carbon Nanotubes to Metal Electrodes

“…were used in this experiment, as were multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a diameter of 30 nm to 50 nm. The purified CNTs were dispersed in a 1.5% mass fraction of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution, and they were ultrasonically vibrated by an Ultrasonic cell grinder for 7 hours in a 20-degree water bath cooling to obtain a dispersed CNTs solution [20,21].…”

Processing of a Large‐Scale Microporous Group on Copper Foil Current Collectors for Lithium Batteries Using Femtosecond Laser

“…In comparison, laser processing technology is a flexible, controllable, nonpolluting, and noncontact precision processing method under atmospheric conditions. [13][14][15][16][17][18] Lasers can be used to process complex 3D structures [19][20][21] with high quality and high precision. This has emerged as a new frontier in the development of laser manufacturing technology.…”