Abstract
A hybrid material consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanoflake balls (CNFBs) was successfully synthesized by microwave-plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition using a H 2 /CH 4 /N 2 ratio of 4:1:2 at 80Torr for 30min. The precursor used was a sol-gel solution containing ferric nitrate, tetrabutyl titanate, and n-propanol. The carbon hybrid material (CNFB-CNT) exhibited excellent field emission properties, with its turn-on field being 1.77V/μm. It also showed two field enhancement factors (1536 and 7932) for different electric fields. The emission current density of the hybrid remained higher than 0.65mA/cm 2 for more than 50h and was 0.82mA/cm 2 even after 50h of continuous emission. Further, the field emission properties of the CNFB-CNT hybrid were better than those of other single-structured carbon nanomaterials (CNTs, CNFs, or CNFBs). Therefore, the CNFB-CNT hybrid material should be a promising candidate for use in high-performance field emitters.