Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry

Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2015.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Other Authors: Evelyn N. Wang.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98662
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author Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
author2 Evelyn N. Wang.
author_facet Evelyn N. Wang.
Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
author_sort Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
collection MIT
description Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2015.
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spelling mit-1721.1/986622019-04-11T12:32:07Z Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Evelyn N. Wang. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Materials Science and Engineering. Thesis: S.B., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 55-56). Carbon nanotubes have generated much research interest and potential applications due to their unique properties such as their high tensile strength, high thermal conductivity, and unique semiconductor properties. Vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) have been used in applications for electrochemical systems in energy storage systems and desalination systems. Typical methods of characterizing the morphology and composition of CNTs are limited in providing information on the packing density of CNTs, and therefore, an effective method for in situ characterization of VA-CNT electrodes is needed. This method explores the use of impedance spectroscopy and other electrochemical methods to characterize VA-CNTs in situ. VA-CNTs forests were grown via chemical vapor densification on pre-oxidized silicon wafers, mechanically densified to achieve varying volume fractions (1%, 2%, 5%, and 10%), and tested in a three-electrode electrochemical cell. Electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and potentiostatic techniques) were used to measure the performance of the VA-CNTs in 1 M and 500 mM electrolyte solutions. Optimization of the experimental setup design and data collection methods yielded data that resulted in the expected cyclic voltammetry response and impedance behavior of porous electrodes. A transmission line model-pore size distribution (TLM-PSD) model was applied to the data collected in order to predict and model porosimetry characteristics. Porous behavior was observed in the VA-CNT electrodes of all volume fractions tested, and the impedance spectra showed that the volume fraction affected the overall impedance but not the characteristic shape of the spectra. Comparison between the impedance data collected in 1 M NaCl and 500 mM NaCl showed the expected corresponding inverse correlation with solution conductivity. Parameters that describe the VA-CNT electrode porosity were calculated and predicted using electrochemical data and the TLM-PSD model. The porous volume Vtot and total ionic conductance Yp values calculated using the model applied to the impedance spectroscopy data showed trends as expected for the different volume fractions of VA-CNT. The results show that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy can be used to characterize certain physical characteristics of the VA-CNT electrodes and further development of the model can yield insights into the porous geometry of VA-CNT forests. by Yuan Lu. S.B. 2015-09-17T19:03:05Z 2015-09-17T19:03:05Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98662 920678562 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 56 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Materials Science and Engineering.
Lu, Yuan, S.B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title_full Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title_fullStr Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title_full_unstemmed Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title_short Using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically-aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
title_sort using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to characterize vertically aligned carbon nanotube forest porosimetry
topic Materials Science and Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98662
work_keys_str_mv AT luyuansbmassachusettsinstituteoftechnology usingelectrochemicalimpedancespectroscopytocharacterizeverticallyalignedcarbonnanotubeforestporosimetry