The precise self-assembly of individual carbon nanotubes using magnetic capturing and fluidic alignment
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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Fabrication, Densification, and Replica Molding of 3D Carbon Nanotube Microstructures
Published on: July 2, 2012
Joon S Shim1, Yeo-Heung Yun, Michael J Rust
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Microsystems and BioMEMS Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
Abstract:
A new method for the self-assembly of a carbon nanotube (CNT) using magnetic capturing and fluidic alignment has been developed and characterized in this work. In this new method, the residual iron (Fe) catalyst positioned at one end of the CNT was utilized as a self-assembly driver to attract and position the CNT, while the assembled CNT was aligned by the shear force induced from the fluid flow through the assembly channel. The self-assembly procedures were successfully developed and the electrical properties of the assembled multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) were fully characterized. The new assembly method developed in this work shows its feasibility for the precise self-assembly of parallel CNTs for electronic devices and nanobiosensors.
