Electrically Conductive Hierarchical Carbon Nanotube Networks with Tunable Mechanical Response.
Small diameter carbon nanotube (CNTs) are synthesized directly from a parent CNT forest using a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. To support a new CNT generation from an existing forest, an alumina coating was applied to the CNT forest using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The new generation of small diameter CNTs (8 nm average) surround the first generation, filling the interstitial regions. The hierarchical forests exhibit a 5-10-fold increase in stiffness, and the two generations are electrically addressable in spite of the interfacial alumina layer between them. This work enables the design of complex CNT architectures with hierarchical features that bring tailored properties such as high specific surface area and robust mechanical properties that can benefit a range of applications.
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri , Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States.
Benjamin F
BF
Davis
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri , Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States.
Xingyi
X
Yan
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
Nitin
N
Muralidharan
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
Landon
L
Oakes
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University , Nashville, Tennessee 37235, United States.
Cary L
CL
Pint
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri , Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States.
Matthew R
MR
Maschmann
carbon nanotubes; electrically addressable; hierarchical nanostructure; interfacial alumina; specific surface area