Field emission properties of capped carbon nanotubes doped by alkali metals:a theoretical investigation

The electronic structures and field emission properties of capped CNT55 systems with or without alkali metal atom adsorption were systematically investigated by density functional theory calculation. The results indicate that the adsorption of alkali metal on the center site of a CNT tip is energetically favorable. In addition, the adsorption energies increase with the introduction of the electric field. The excessive negative charges on CNT tips make electron emittance much easier and result in a decrease in work function. Furthermore, the inducing effect by positively charged alkali metal atoms can be reasonably considered as the dominant reason for the improvement in field emission properties.