SBIR Phase I: Structural Tailoring of Carbon Nanotube Composites for Field Emission

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project aims to tailor the low cost single-walled carbon nanotube/silica composite, produced a unique cobalt-molybdenum catalyst system (CoMoCATtm) method, for use as uniform, reliable, and cost-effective nanotube emitters. Preliminary results have shown that composites prepared from purified single-walled carbon nanotubes and dielectric nanoparticles lead to better emission characteristics than plain nanotubes. Recent collaborative studies demonstrated that the CoMoCATtm material has the potential of being used in its "as-prepared" form, which is already a composite of nanotubes/SiO2 (dielectric) particles. To further improve the field emission characteristics of the CoMoCATtm composite, the structure of the catalyst support and carbon concentration will be optimized by synthesizing mesoporous silica materials of specific pore dimensions. At the same time, the effect of changing the average diameter of the carbon nanotubes will be investigated, capitalizing the flexibility of the CoMoCATtm process for tailoring single-walled carbon nanotubes. Commercially, an important first use of single-walled carbon nanotubes will likely be in field emission devices (FEDs). The nanotube emitters that will be developed in this project are important for many sub-applications in this broad FED field, but the main focus will be in large diagonal TVs due to the considerable market size. The target market for large area FEDs is the existing and predicted market for CPTs (color picture tubes) and color PDPs (plasma display panels). Even a small penetration into this market will yield a considerable opportunity, with a projected market of $1B in the next 5 years.