PNNL

Abstract

Well-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown on mesoporous silica films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Ethylene was used as the carbon source and CVD was performed at 1023 K and atmospheric pressure. The films were doped with Fe during gelation, and three different structure directing agents were used for mesoporous silica synthesis: polyoxyethylene (10) cetyl ether (C16EO10), Pluronic tri-block copolymer (P123), and cetyltriethylammonium chloride (CTAC). A high degree of CNT alignment on C16EO10-mesoporous silica films was produced at Fe:Si molar ratio of 1.80. Similar alignment of CNTs was achieved on the other two types of films but on CTAC-mesoporous silica films, CNTs only grew parallel to the substrate surface from the cracks in the films because of the in-plane arrangement of the mesopores in such films. Considerable progress has been made in producing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by catalytic CVD techniques. If CNTs are to be integrated into certain useful devices, it is critical to be able to grow highly aligned arrays of CNTs with narrow size distribution and at specific locations on a substrate. Long-range alignment normal to the substrate results from steric crowding if the initial catalyst sites are sufficiently dense. Alignment may be improved with better control of the density of catalytic sites by means of a template of appropriate pore structure. The confinement of CNTs by the pores during the initial growth may also help align CNTs.