Scarselli M, Camilli L, Castrucci P, Del Gobbo S, Casciardi S, Tombolini F, Gatto E, Venanzi M, De Crescenzi M
Dipartimento di Fisica and Unità CNISM, Università di Roma Tor Vergata Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 1-00133 Roma, Italy.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2011 Oct;11(10):9321-5. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2011.4313.
In this paper we illustrate a simple method for the production of multiwall carbon nanotubes thin films decorated with copper metal nanoparticles. The structural information obtained from the transmission electron microscopy study performed on samples differing in the quantity of deposited Copper was linked to the opto-electronic properties evaluated with photo-electrochemical measurements. The photo-response evaluated in terms of incident photon-to-charge carrier generation efficiency varied for different sized-Cu-multiwall carbon nanotubes samples across all the visible and near-ultraviolet photon energy range with respect to the response of bare carbon tubes. The photo-response from the sample covered with of 0.5 nm Cu nominal thickness, reached 10.2%, a value 2 times higher than that measured for bare carbon tubes of 5.9%. While this value decreased to 2.8% when the Cu nominal coverage thickened up to 3 nm. The increase in the photo-response found was interpreted as being the result of a remarkable charge transfer between the Cu metal nanoparticles and the carbon atoms in the tube due to the formation of a strong ionic bond at their interface. The results obtained prove that the metal nanoparticle-carbon nanotube composites have optical, electrical and structural properties that can be applied in a variety of nanoscale architectures for novel photo-electrochemical devices.
在本文中，我们阐述了一种制备装饰有铜金属纳米颗粒的多壁碳纳米管薄膜的简单方法。通过对沉积铜量不同的样品进行透射电子显微镜研究获得的结构信息，与通过光电化学测量评估的光电性能相关联。在所有可见光和近紫外光子能量范围内，针对不同尺寸的铜 - 多壁碳纳米管样品，以入射光子到电荷载流子产生效率来评估的光响应相对于裸碳管的响应有所不同。对于标称厚度为0.5 nm铜覆盖的样品，光响应达到10.2%，该值比裸碳管测得的5.9%高出2倍。而当铜标称覆盖厚度增加到3 nm时，该值降至2.8%。所发现的光响应增加被解释为由于在铜金属纳米颗粒与管中的碳原子之间形成了强离子键，从而在它们的界面处发生了显著的电荷转移。所获得的结果证明，金属纳米颗粒 - 碳纳米管复合材料具有光学、电学和结构特性，可应用于各种用于新型光电化学器件的纳米级架构中。
