Investigating physical properties of novel carbon-based materials

Abstract

In this thesis, we present the results of studies of physical properties in three classes of novel carbon-based materials: carbon aerogels, single-walled carbon nanotubes, and high thermal conductivity graphitic foams. The experimental technique of Raman laser spectroscopy yields structural information about all of these materials that we are investigating, including how the covalent bonds between the carbon atoms in the base of the material change in the presence of metal doping (in the case of carbon aerogels) and. electrochemical doping (in the case of carbon nanotubes). In addition, we present the results of Raman spectroscopy performed on high thermal conductivity graphitic foarns, which consist of a weblike region containing highly-aligned filaments, and an interfoam region consisting of disrupted junctions. The expected Raman spectra for disordered and graphitic regions are then compared with our experimental results. While the main characterization technique used was Raman spectroscopy, we also performed magnetic susceptibility and X-ray diffraction measurements on the doped carbon aerogels to ascertain other physical properties.