Low turn-on field and high field emission current density from Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite

Abstract High current density of 1.24 mA/cm 2 was drawn at an applied field of 4.4 V/μm from Ag/TiO 2 nanocomposite. Also the turn-on field has been reduced from 3.9 V/μm to 2.7 V/μm for the emission current density of 10 μA/cm 2 . Ag/TiO 2 nanocomposite was synthesized by using UV-switchable reducing agent. TiO 2 nanotube wall was decorated by Ag nanoparticles with average diameter of 17 nm. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the field emission studies of Ag/TiO 2 nanocomposite. Simple synthesis route coupled with superior field emission properties indicate the possible use of Ag/TiO 2 nanocomposite for micro/nanoelectronic devices.