Chemically derived graphene sheets top assembled over multi-walled carbon nanotube thin film by Langmuir Blodgett method for improved dual field emission.

Graphene and carbon nanotubes are very much known as effective field emitter materials. However field emission applications with hybrid carbon nanostructures have mostly remained elusive so far. Here we report, top assembly of very thin layer of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by Langmuir Blodgett method over a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) thin film/ITO substrate to investigate the dual field emission property of the hybrid structure. The non-functionalized type of attachment in between the hybrid carbon nanostructures mainly due to van der Waals force of attraction ensured easy fabrication procedure. Evidence of uniform distribution of web like networks of very thin transparent RGO sheets top assembled over densely packed MWCNTs thin film was found from the field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis. The base layer conductivity was enhanced due to the incorporation of MWCNTs bottom layer over ITO and the former also additionally facilitated as emitter site pockets in between RGO planes. Finally, the RGO top assembly resulted in achieving significant improvement in current density and turn-on field in tandem with MWCNTs bottom layer bed making this hybrid system a much feasible candidate for future field emission (FE) based device applications.