Vasenkov A.V., Kolobov V.V., Melechko A.V
CFD Research Corporation, US
Keywords: carbon nanotubes, low temperature growth, selective heating of nanocatalyst
A critical technological challenge for many potential carbon-nanotubes (CNT) and carbon nanofibers (CNF) applications is to have a process for a direct synthesis of aligned/micropatterned CNTs/CNFs on temperature-sensitive surfaces. Currently there is no process that can perform this task. The absence of such a low-temperature (room temperature or close to room temperature) process often results in very high manufacturing costs of CNT-based materials and devices. This challenge was addressed in this study by designing a novel process enabling low-temperature, direct synthesis of CNTs/CNFs. This was achieved by combining two mechanisms of heating: (i) heating by radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields generated by an RF source additional to that used to sustain optional discharge in the reactor and (ii) heating from exothermic catalytic reactions on the surface of catalyst.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Technical Proceedings of the 2007 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show, Volume 1
Published: May 20, 2007
Pages: 29 - 32
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Carbon Nano Structures & Devices
ISBN: 1-4200-6182-8