Improved and large area single-walled carbon nanotube forest growth by controlling the gas flow direction.
A gas shower system was introduced to improve the growth of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) forests by controlling the gas flow direction. Delivery of gases from the top of the forest enabled direct and precise supply of ethylene and water vapor to the Fe catalysts. As such, this approach solved one of the limiting factors of water-assisted chemical vapor deposition method (CVD), that is, delivery of the very small optimum water level to the catalysts. Consequently, this approach improved SWNT forests growth stability, uniformity, reproducibility, carbon efficiency (32%), and catalyst lifetime. With this improved growth, we could synthesize a 1 cm tall forest with 1 x 1 cm size. Also we employed this approach to grow an A4 size SWNT forest to highlight the scalability of water-assisted CVD.
Yasuda
Satoshi
S
Nanotube Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba 305-8565, Japan.
Futaba
Don N
DN
Yamada
Takeo
T
Satou
Junichi
J
Shibuya
Akiyoshi
A
Takai
Hirokazu
H
Arakawa
Kouhei
K
Yumura
Motoo
M
Hata
Kenji
K
D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D005740:Gases / Q000737:chemistry; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
D005740:Gases; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon