title: Water-assisted highly efficient synthesis of impurity-free single-walled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: We demonstrate the efficient chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes where the activity and lifetime of the catalysts are enhanced by water. Water-stimulated enhanced catalytic activity results in massive growth of superdense and vertically aligned nanotube forests with heights up to 2.5 millimeters that can be easily separated from the catalysts, providing nanotube material with carbon purity above 99.98%. Moreover, patterned, highly organized intrinsic nanotube structures were successfully fabricated. The water-assisted synthesis method addresses many critical problems that currently plague carbon nanotube synthesis.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Advanced Carbon Materials, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, 305-8565, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Don N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Futaba
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Tatsunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Namai
authors.forename: Motoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yumura
authors.forename: Sumio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Iijima