Synthesis and field emission properties of Cu dendritic nanostructures

Cu dendritic nanostructures were synthesized on ITO glass substructure by electrochemical deposition. SEM images showed that these Cu dendritic nanostuctures revealed a clear and well-defined dendritic fractal structure with a pronounced trunk and highly ordered branches distributed on both sides of the trunk. The diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) model was used to explain the fractal growth of Cu dendritic nanostructures. Field emission properties of these Cu dendritic nanostructures were measured, which have possessed good performance with the turn-on field of 7.5 V/mu m (defined as the electric field required to be detected at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm(2)) and the field enhancement factor beta of 1094. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.