Polymer-nanotube composite mats with improved field emission performance and stability.

The results of electron field emission from single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) mats deposited on different composite films of SWCNTs and poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) semiconducting polymer are presented. Three different structures were tested: (a) dense and sparse SWCNT mats on n+ -Si; (b) SWCNT mats on composite films with different SWCNT-P3OT ratios; (c) composite films with different SWCNT-P3OT ratios on n+ -Si. The experiments show that there is a critical SWCNT-P3OT concentration in which the field emission stability of SWCNT mats is remarkably improved with a small reduction in the emission threshold compared to the optimum pristine SWCNT film. The contribution of the composite film morphology as well as the role of polymer-nanotube interaction on the emission performance are evaluated. The physical mechanism behind the stability of composite field emitters is also discussed.

Making silicon hydrophobic: wettability control by two-lengthscale simultaneous patterning with femtosecond laser irradiation.

We report on the wettability properties of silicon surfaces, simultaneously structured on the micrometre-scale and the nanometre-scale by femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation to render silicon hydrophobic. By varying the laser fluence, it was possible to control the wetting properties of a silicon surface through a systematic and reproducible variation of the surface roughness. In particular, the silicon-water contact angle could be increased from 66° to more than 130°. Such behaviour is described by incomplete liquid penetration within the silicon features, still leaving partially trapped air inside. We also show how controllable design and tailoring of the surface microstructures by wettability gradients can drive the motion of the drop's centre of mass towards a desired direction (even upwards).