Chapter 9. Electron transport in the assemblies of multiwall carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The assemblies (films) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess very stable, reproducible, and extraordinary electronic properties. These films have been considered as attractive materials for various nanosensors and as electrodes of electrochemical energy storage devices, like supercapacitors, with low equivalent series resistance and highly developed internal surface. In order to develop CNT devices operating at the room temperature, it was necessary to determine the assembled films’ properties, such as the mechanism of conductivity, carrier concentration, and mobility. In this study, we are focused on the assemblies (monolayers, arrays, and films) of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). We applied a wide temperature range resistance and magnetoresistance as a tool to determine the transport characteristics of MWCNT films. The measurements of the electrical transport (temperature dependence of the resistance) in the assemblies of nanotubes were tested in the temperature range T = 1.5–300 K, and the magnetoresistance measurements were carried out in pulsed magnetic fields up to 35 tesla in the temperature range 1.5–300 K. The mechanisms responsible for the transport in these systems, including weak localization, antilocalization, Luttinger liquid, Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations, and intertube coupling, were observed.