abstract
Zinc oxide thin films were deposited on vertically aligned nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) from diethylzinc and water. The study demonstrates that doping CNTs with nitrogen is an effective approach for the "activation" of the CNTs surface for the ALD of metal oxides. Conformal ZnO coatings are already obtained after 50 ALD cycles, whereas at lower ALD cycles an island growth mode is observed. Moreover, the process allows for a uniform growth from the top to the bottom of the vertically aligned N-CNT arrays. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrates that ZnO nucleation takes place at the N-containing species on the surface of the CNTs by the formation of the Zn-N bonds at the interface between the CNTs and the ZnO film.
keywords
ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION; X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON; CARBON NANOTUBE ARRAYS; NITROGEN; FUNCTIONALIZATION; SPECTROSCOPY; FILMS
subject category
Chemistry; Materials Science
authors
Silva, RM; Ferro, MC; Araujo, JR; Achete, CA; Cavel, G; Silva, RF; Pinna, N
our authors
Marta Ascenção Carmona Ferro
Laboratory Officer
Ricardo Manuel Fonseca Lopes da Silva
Junior Researcher
Rui Ramos Ferreira e Silva
Associate Professoracknowledgements
R M. Silva is very grateful to FCT for the grant SFRH/BD/90844/2012. The RNME-Pole University of Aveiro, FCT Project REDE/1509/RME/2005, is acknowledged. The authors acknowledge A. J. S. Fernandes and R. Soares from University of Aveiro for the Raman spectra and XRR studies, respectively. This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (FCT ref. UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate cofinanced by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.