One step hydrothermal synthesis of SnO2-RGO nanocomposite and its field emission studies

Field emission (FE) properties of hydrothermally synthesized, SnO2-RGO nanocomposite have been investigated at a base pressure of 1×10−8mbar. The results reveal that the SnO2-RGO nanocomposite emitter prevails over the pristine RGO emitter. The values of turn-on field, defined at emission current density of 1 μA/cm2, are found to be 1.8 and 2.2 V/μm for the SnO2-RGO and pristine RGO emitters, respectively. Furthermore, the SnO2-RGO emitter delivers maximum emission current density of ~800 µA/cm2 at an applied field of 5 V/μm. The observed values of applied field corresponding to emission current densities of 1 μA/cm2 and 10 µA/cm2 are superior to those reported for various emitters due to SnO2 nanostructures and their composites. The emission current at the pre-set value of 1 µA is found to be very stable over a period of 3hrs. The enhanced FE behaviour of SnO2-RGO nanocomposite emitter has been attributed to synergic effect due to its nanometric dimensions offering high aspect ratio and modulation of electronic properties via formation of heterostructure. The results obtained herein propose the SnO2-RGO nanocomposite as a prospective candidate for FE based vacuum microelectronic devices.