Growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) forests is highly sensitive to the nature of the substrate. This constraint narrows the range of available materials to just a few oxide-based dielectrics and presents a major obstacle for applications. Using a suspended monolayer, we show here that graphene is an excellent conductive substrate for CNT forest growth. Furthermore, graphene is sh...

We present a novel nanotube-on-insulator (NOI) approach for producing high-yield nanotube devices based on aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. First, we managed to grow aligned nanotube arrays with controlled density on crystalline, insulating sapphire substrates, which bear analogy to industry-adopted silicon-on-insulator substrates. On the basis of the nanotube arrays, we demonstrated reg...

By using alcohol as carbon source, high-purity single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be generated at relatively low CVD temperatures from metal catalysts supported with zeolite [1]. Based on these findings, we have proposed alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) technique. In addition to the conventional metal particles supported on zeolite, we have developed a simple dip-coat method to directly di...

By using alcohol as carbon source, high-purity single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be generated at relatively low CVD temperatures from metal catalysts supported with zeolite [1]. Based on these findings, we have proposed alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) technique. In addition to the conventional metal particles supported on zeolite, we have developed a simple dip-coat method to directly di...

This letter reports on fast and highly anisotropic thermal transport through millimeter-tall, vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays VANTAs synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on Si substrates. Thermal diffusivity measurements were performed for both longitudinal and transverse to the nanotube alignment direction, with longitudinal values as large as 2.1±0.2 cm2/s and anisotropy ratios ...

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays have been demonstrated as probes for rapid quantifying of cancer cell deformability with high resolution. Through entrapment of various cancer cells on CNT arrays, the deflections of the nanotubes during cell deformation were used to derive the lateral cell shear force using a large deflection mode method. It is observed that VACNT beams act as ...

A facile, two-step method for chemically attaching single-stranded DNA to graphitic surfaces, represented here by carbon nanotubes, is reported. In the first step, an azide-containing compound, N-5-azido-nitrobenzoyloxy succinimide (ANB-NOS), is used to form photo-adducts on the graphitic surfaces in a solid-state photochemical reaction, resulting in active ester groups being oriented for the s...

The role of water in carbon feed on the surface-guided growth of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (HA-SWCNTs) was investigated. It is shown that the amount of water can be optimized to favor HA-SWCNT growth, which is proposed to be due to selective etching of carbon deposits at carbon–metal interface. Without water, nanotube–nanotube interaction and carbon accumulation at the...