Stable Electron Field Emission from CeO₂ Nanowires by Hydrothermal Method

CeO₂ nanowires are successful synthesized by hydrothermal method and their field emission (FE) properties are investigated. The turn-on electric field is 5.8V/μm at an emitter--anode spacing of 700μm. The FE current is stable and the current fluctuations are less than 3% over 5h. All the plotted Fowler--Nordheim curves yield straight lines, which are in agreement with the Fowler--Nordheim theory. The relationship between the field enhancement factor β and the emitter--anode spacing d follows a universal equation. Our results
imply that the CeO₂ nanowires are promising materials for fabricating FE cathodes.