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Published on: December 7, 2015
Diameter modulation of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes
Rong Xiang1, Erik Einarsson, Yoichi Murakami
1State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. xiangr2@mail.sysu.edu.cn
ACS Nano
|July 21, 2012
Summary
We successfully reduced the mean diameter of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to 1.4 nm using optimized catalyst concentrations. This advancement challenges current minimum diameters for electronic applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Chemistry
Background:
- Vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are crucial for electronic applications.
- Current fabrication methods face limitations in achieving smaller diameters necessary for advanced electronics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate wide-range diameter modulation of vertically aligned SWNTs.
- To challenge the current minimum mean diameter of 2 nm for SWNTs.
- To develop a novel spectral analysis method for characterizing nanotube arrays.
Main Methods:
- Utilized wet chemistry to prepare catalysts with modulated concentrations (e.g., 1/100 Co, 5x Mo).
- Employed a novel spectral analysis technique to differentiate absorbance contributions along the nanotube array height.
- Investigated catalyst particle behavior and nanotube array characteristics.
Main Results:
- Achieved a significant decrease in mean SWNT diameter to approximately 1.4 nm.
- Quantitatively characterized subtle diameter variations along the array height using the developed spectral method.
- Identified catalyst aggregation as the dominant mechanism in metal particle growth during SWNT synthesis.
Conclusions:
- Catalyst concentration tuning is effective for precise diameter control of vertically aligned SWNTs.
- The novel spectral analysis method provides quantitative insights into nanotube array homogeneity.
- Catalyst aggregation, not Ostwald ripening, governs metal particle growth in this synthesis process.
