Applied Sciences (Mar 2019)

The Growth Methods and Field Emission Studies of Low-Dimensional Boron-Based Nanostructures

  • Haibo Gan,
  • Tong Zhang,
  • Zekun Guo,
  • Haojian Lin,
  • Zijuan Li,
  • Huanjun Chen,
  • Jun Chen,
  • Fei Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app9051019
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 5
p. 1019

Abstract

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Based on the morphology characteristics, low-dimensional (LD) nanostructures with high aspect ratio can be usually divided into nanowire, nanocone, nanotube, nanorod, nanoribbon, nanobelt and so on. Among numerous LD nanostructures, boron-based nanostructures attracted much interest in recent years because they have high melting-point, large electric and thermal conductivity, and low work function. Compared to traditional thermal emission, field emission (FE) has notable advantages, such as lower power dissipation, longer working life, room-temperature operation, higher brightness and faster switching speed. Most studies reveal they have lower turn-on and threshold fields as well as high current density, which are believed as ideal cold cathode nanomaterials. In this review, we will firstly introduce the growth methods of LD boron-based nanostructures (boron monoelement and rare-earth metal hexaboride). Then, we will discuss their FE properties and applications. At last, the conclusions and outlook will be summarized based on the above studies.

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