Boron-doped few-walled carbon nanotubes: novel synthesis and properties

Few-walled carbon nanotubes offer a unique marriage of graphitic quality and robustness to ink-processing; however, doping procedures that may alter the band structure of these few-walled nanotubes are still lacking. This report introduces a novel solution-injected chemical vapor deposition growth process to fabricate the first boron-doped few-walled carbon nanotubes (B-FWNTs) reported in literature, which may have extensive applications in battery devices. A comprehensive characterization of the as-grown B-FWNTs confirms successful boron substitution in the graphitic lattice, and reveals varying growth parameters impact the structural properties of B-FWNT yield. An investigation into the optimal growth purification parameters and ink-making procedures was also conducted. This study introduces the first process technique to successfully grow intrinsically p-doped FWNTs, and provides the first investigation into the impact factors of the growth parameters, purification steps, and ink-making processes on the structural properties of the B-FWNTs and the electrical properties of the resulting spray-coated thin-film electrodes.