Determination of carrier densities of boron- and nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes using mott-schottky plots

Knowledge of the carrier type (p- or n-type) and the carrier density of carbon nanotubes is critical in semiconductor applications such as thermoelectric power generation and Peltier cooling. In this paper, an experimental procedure for electrochemically characterizing multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) doped with boron or nitrogen has been presented. The carrier type and carrier density of the doped MWCNTs were determined by generating Mott-Schottky plots. The boron-doped nanotubes were synthesized using the substitution reaction method and the nitrogen-doped MWCNTs were synthesized using the continuous-feed chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using pyridine or acetonitrile as the carbon precursor and ferrocene as the metal catalyst particle precursor. The nitrogen-doped nanotubes were synthesized at different CVD reaction temperatures: 650, 700, 800, and 900°C, and the effect of reaction temperature on the carrier densities of the carbon nanotubes was examined. Thermoelectric devices were constructed using pyridine nanotubes synthesized at different synthesis temperatures, and it was found that with any change (increase/decrease) in the carrier densities reflected a corresponding change in the thermoelectric power of the nanotubes.