Synthesis and comparative study of optical and electrical properties of Au-doped carbon nanotubes prepared in different reaction media

We introduce the synthesis, characterization and physical properties of gold (Au) doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in different reaction media. In order to dope MWCNTs with Au nanoparticles (NPs), first functionalized carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) were prepared. The reduction of gold (III) chloride trihydrate for synthesizing Au NPs in the presence of f-MWCNTs was performed by using sodium citrate as a reducing agent. The produced nanocomposites were characterized using FTIR, XRD and TEM analyses to explore their chemical structures and morphologies. All of the samples have been characterized by TGA and resultantly, the composite made into ethylene glycol exhibited the most concentration of Au NPs into the composite network. This work probes the optical characteristics, such as UV-vis absorption, and optical band gap. Hall effect analyses declared some pleasing variations in electrical characteristics. Remarkably, the n-type doping of Au NPs in the p-type MWCNTs' network led to a downshift of the Fermi level. This process increased the doped samples electrical conductivity. The results indicated that modification of MWCNTs with Au NPs has generally an important role in decreasing the band gap and increasing the electrical activity of MWCNTs. Our research outcomes provide a new vision into how different reaction media could affect the characteristics of MWCNT/Au nanocomposites. We discovered that ethylene glycol could be considered as a perfect reaction medium for preparation of high-quality doped CNTs with excellent physical properties. Our effort opens up the door to far more investigations on the role of the reaction medium in products' characteristics.