title: Growth of Horizontal Semiconducting SWNT Arrays with Density Higher than 100 tubes/μm using Ethanol/Methane Chemical Vapor Deposition.
abstract: Horizontally aligned semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWNT) arrays with a certain density are highly desirable for future electronic devices. However, obtaining s-SWNT arrays with simultaneously high purity and high density is extremely challenging. We report herein a rational approach, using ethanol/methane chemical vapor deposition, to grow SWNT arrays with a s-SWNT ratio over 91% and a density higher than 100 tubes/μm. In this approach, at a certain temperature, ethanol was fully thermally decomposed to feed carbon atoms for Trojan-Mo catalysts growing high density SWNT arrays, while the incomplete pyrolysis of methane provided appropriate active H radicals with the help of catalytic sapphire surface to inhibit metallic SWNT (m-SWNT) growth. The synergistic effect of ethanol/methane mixtures resulted in enriched semiconducting SWNTs and no obvious decrease in nanotube density due to their milder reactivity and higher controllability at suitable growth conditions. This work represents a step forward in large-area synthesis of high density s-SWNT arrays on substrates and demonstrates potential applications in scalable carbon nanotube electronics.
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Division of Advanced Nanomaterials, Suzhou Institute of Nanotech and Nanobionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lixing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuchen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Advanced Nanomaterials, Suzhou Institute of Nanotech and Nanobionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qingwen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang