title: The role of the substrate surface morphology and water in growth of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Growth of high quality, vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (carpets) is achieved using a rapid insertion hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HF-CVD) technique. The effect of the substrate morphology on growth is explored by comparing carpets grown on epitaxially polished MgO substrates to those grown on "as-cut", macroscopically rough MgO substrates. Depending on the substrate morphology, we observe differences in both the overall carpet morphology as well as the diameter distribution of nanotubes grown in the carpet based on optical measurements. In addition, we explore the role of water in the growth of carpets on MgO and the conventional Al2O3 coated Si substrates. We find that the addition of a small amount of water is beneficial to the growth rates of the SWNT carpets, enhancing the growth rates by up to eight times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Cary
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pint
authors.forename: Sean
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pheasant
authors.forename: Nolan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nicholas
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hauge
mesh_terms: D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008277:Magnesium Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D014867:Water; D008277:Magnesium Oxide