Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Despite the widespread use of ultrasonication for dispersing carbon nanotubes, the suitability and advantages of shear-force mixing dispersion method remain unexplored, particularly for field-effect transistor (FET) application. This study compares ultrasonication and shear force mixing for dispersing small- and large-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes and examines how each method affects nanotube quality and FET performance. The results show that the carbon nanotubes dispersed by shear force mixing provides better FET performance due to lower subthreshold swing and consequently reduced interface trap density. Furthermore, spectral (absorption, photoluminescence, Raman) characterization evidences lower level of defects in shear force mixing nanotube dispersions comparing to ultrasonication-dispersed samples. Besides, shear force mixing results in higher variability of nanotube chiralities in the obtained dispersions. The outcome of this comparative study provides new insights into impact of dispersion methodology on carbon nanotube quality, particularly formation of defects, and confirm feasibility of shear force technique for carbon nanotube processing towards fabrication of transistors and other nanoelectronics applications.</p>