Ultraviolet and infrared studies of the single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotube films with different thickness

Ultraviolet and infrared transmission measurements on an unoriented single-wall (SWCNTs) and multi-wall (MWCNTs) carbon nanotubes films were performed over a frequency range 190–2500 nm for the four different films. A clear change in the fine structure of the infrared spectrum for different films. The higher-energy optical absorption bands, which correspond to transitions across the Van Hove singularities, are not observed in the measured frequency range in the case of MWCNTs films. The broad excitation in the low-energy range below 0.025 eV (Drude peak (EM0)) are attributed to the contributions from metallic carriers localized in a finite length. This Drude peak (EM0) at low-energies is decreased in in case of MWCNTs, which suggests a progressive transition of metallic tubes to insulating state. The unoriented MWCNTs films have an average thickness of about 200–400 nm. The scanning electron microscope pictures of the SWCNTs and the MWCNTs films illustrate the morphological differences between the four studied samples. The volume fraction of the carbon nanotubes in all films appears to be the same, although there is a difference for particles other than nanotubes in the films.