Metal-catalyst-free growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes.
We present a metal-catalyst-free CVD process for the high-efficiency growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) on surface. By applying a 30-nm-thick SiO(2) sputtering deposited Si or Si/SiO(2) wafer as substrate and CH(4) as a carbon source, dense and uniform SWNT networks with high quality can be obtained without the presence of any metal species. Moreover, a simple patterned growth approach, using a scratched Si/SiO(2) wafer as substrate, is also presented for the growth of SWNTs with good position controllability. Our finding of the growth of SWNTs via a metal-catalyst-free process will provide valuable information for understanding the growth mechanism of SWNTs in-depth, which accordingly will facilitate the controllable synthesis and applications of carbon nanotubes.
Liu
Bilu
B
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, People's Republic of China.
Ren
Wencai
W
Gao
Libo
L
Li
Shisheng
S
Pei
Songfeng
S
Liu
Chang
C
Jiang
Chuanbin
C
Cheng
Hui-Ming
HM