Optical and Electronic Innovations in Carbon Nanotubes

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Materials and Carbon Allotropes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 663

Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Electronics, Tohoku Institute of Technology, Sendai, Japan
Interests: 2D materials; carbon nanomaterials; electro-optical devices; semiconductor devices; metasurfaces; cmos technology; nanotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon nanotubes exhibit unique optical and electronic properties originating from their one-dimensional structure and tunable electronic states, enabling device concepts that extend beyond conventional semiconductor technologies. This Special Issue aims to present recent advances and novel insights into the control, integration, and practical utilization of these properties for emerging optical and electronic applications. The scope of this Special issue includes carbon nanotube-based optical sensing and photonics, high-performance electronic devices such as carbon nanotube field-effect transistors and flexible electronics, bio- and chemical sensing platforms, energy-harvesting and conversion technologies, and energy-storage applications, including batteries and supercapacitors. In addition, contributions addressing materials engineering of carbon nanotubes, such as chirality control, selective synthesis, surface functionalization, and hybrid nanostructures, are highly encouraged. Studies exploring device integration strategies, scalability, reliability, and compatibility with existing semiconductor technologies are also within scope. Both experimental and theoretical investigations that advance fundamental understanding or demonstrate technological relevance are welcome. This collection highlights interdisciplinary research that bridges materials science, device physics, and system-level applications. We look forward to receiving your outstanding contributions.

Prof. Dr. Takashi Uchino
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • carbon nanotubes
  • applications
  • devices
  • systems
  • synthesis
  • characterization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 9039 KB  
Article
Effects of Co-Solvent and Polymer Composition in Gel Electrolytes on the Performance of Paper Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
by Yi Kou and Takahide Oya
C 2026, 12(2), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/c12020050 - 4 Jun 2026
Viewed by 364
Abstract
In this study, we investigated how co-solvent and polymer combinations affect the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using TiO2- and ZnO-modified carbon nanotube (CNT) composite papers as photoelectrodes. Co-solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethylene glycol (EG) were incorporated into [...] Read more.
In this study, we investigated how co-solvent and polymer combinations affect the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using TiO2- and ZnO-modified carbon nanotube (CNT) composite papers as photoelectrodes. Co-solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethylene glycol (EG) were incorporated into polyethylene glycol (PEG)- and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based gel electrolytes to increase the amount of dissolved I2/KI redox species and evaluate their influence on the wettability of the electrolyte on CNT composite paper electrodes. PEG-based electrolytes containing DMF or EG improved the fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) relative to the baseline formulation, with the EG–PEG electrolyte achieving the best single-device PCE of 15.58 × 10−3% using the CNT/ZnO composite paper. Replacing PEG with PEO or using PEG + PEO blends led to reduced performance, possibly because the modified polymer composition affected electrolyte wetting, spreading behavior, and penetration into the porous electrode. These results suggest that the wettability and viscosity-related behavior of gel electrolytes are important empirical factors associated with the performance of flexible paper DSSCs, and provide practical guidance for the design of paper-based photovoltaic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical and Electronic Innovations in Carbon Nanotubes)
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