MXene-tailored CNT cold cathodes and self-powered electron emitters toward plasma generation
The fabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT) field emitters usually involves a complicated process and shows poor adhesion to the substrate, which leads to inferior electron emission. Taking advantage of Ti3C2 MXene in film-forming, we have prepared CNT/MXene field emitters on various substrates. The emitter on stainless steel achieves an outstanding continuous emission density of 125 mA cm−2 and a pulse emission up to 750 mA cm−2. In addition, the arrayed CNT/MXene emitter on structured polydimethylsiloxane displays a current density of 73.9 mA cm−2 at a low field of 2.5 V µm−1, as well as good stability for 13.8 h. Meanwhile, the CNT/MXene emitter could operate when powered by a triboelectric nanogenerator, and the result indicates that CNT/MXene emitter can be used as a generator for producing plasma in air. The work opens a strategy to fabricate superior CNT cathodes on various substrates and holds great promise for practical applications in cold electron vacuum electronics and self-powered devices.
Authors
- Yun Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4378-5317)
- Jiangtao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7853-7914)
- Jianbiao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9132-5817)
- Xuqiang Zhang
- Bingjun Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3778-3868)
- Jian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7776-6587)
- Yan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3402-3396)
- Andong Wu
- Yarong Zhou
- Xinyi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0731-6069)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (CN)
- Institute of Modern Physics (CN)
- Northwest Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied Physics Letters
- Published
- 2025-09-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0280628
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- MXene and MAX Phase Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.52