Highly efficient bilateral doping of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

A boost in the development of flexible and wearable electronics facilitates the design of new materials to be applied as transparent conducting films (TCFs). Although single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) films are the most promising candidates for flexible TCFs, they still do not meet optoelectronic requirements demanded for their successful industrial integration. In this study, we proposed and thoroughly investigated a new approach that comprises simultaneous bilateral (outer and inner surface) SWCNT doping after their opening by thermal treatment at 400 °C under an ambient air atmosphere. Doping by a chloroauric acid (HAuCl₄) ethanol solution allowed us to achieve the record value of equivalent sheet resistance of 31 ± 4 Ω sq⁻¹ at a transmittance of 90% in the middle of the visible spectrum (550 nm). The strong p-doping was examined by open-circuit potential (OCP) measurements and confirmed by ab initio calculations demonstrating a downshift of the Fermi level of around 1 eV for the case of bilateral doping.