Electrochemical electrodes based on dense and vertically aligned arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were produced. The open tips of individual hollow nanotubes are exposed as active sites while the entangled nanotube stems encapsulated in epoxy collectively provide multiplexed and highly conductive pathways for charge transport. This unique structure together with the extraordinar...

Using a mixture of ferrocene, pyridine, and triphenylphosphine as precursors for injection-assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD), we prepared the first vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube array co-doped with phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) with a relatively high P-doping level (designated as PN-ACNT). We have also demonstrated the potential applications of the resultant PN-ACNTs a...

Carbon nanotubes and graphene have many interesting properties. To exploit the properties in applications their synthesis and incorporation in devices has to be understood and controlled. This thesis is based on experimental studies on synthesis of carbon nanotubes and fabrication of nanoelectromechanical systems from carbon nanotubes and graphene. Vertically aligned nanotube arrays with height...

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube films with diameters smaller than 5 nm, high densities up to 10/cm, and lengths of ~ 5–8 Am were deposited by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Experiments show that, by continuous reduction in the thickness of the iron film (i.e., ~0.3–0.5 nm), small diameter carbon nanotubes can be achieved with diameters that ranged from 1–5 nm, and the f...

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube field emitters with 100 nm-dot array structure were fabricated using dc plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, where dot catalysts were patterned by electron beam lithography. In order to optimize the growth condition of VACNTs, the morphologies of CNTs were investigated by changing gas ratio between NH3 and C2H2 gases. It was found that morphology of CNTs...

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays are grown on a moving substrate, demonstrating continuous growth of nanoscale materials with long-range order. A cold-wall chamber with an oscillating moving platform is used to locally heat a silicon growth substrate coated with an Fe/Al2O3 catalyst film for CNT growth via chemical vapor deposition. The reactant gases are introduced over the subs...

In the present work, we have developed a simple but effective method to prepare superlong vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (SLVA-CNT) and epoxy composite membranes, and we have demonstrated that various liquids, including water, hexane, and dodecane, can effectively pass through the SLVA-CNT membranes. These results were confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. While the mechanical densi...

Changing the carbon feedstock from pure ethanol to a 5 vol % mixture of acetonitrile in ethanol during the growth of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) reduces the mean diameter of the emerging SWNTs from approximately 2 to 1 nm. We show this feedstock-dependent change is reversible and repeatable, as demonstrated by multilayered vertically aligned SWNT structures. The re...

We have succeeded in synthesizing vertically aligned doubled-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) forests with heights of up to 2.2 mm by water-assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD). We achieved 85% selectivity of DWNTs through a semi-empirical analysis of the relationships between the tube type and mean diameter and between the mean diameter and the film thickness of sputtered Fe, which was used ...

Electrochemical capacitors with fast charging-discharging rates are very promising for hybrid electric vehicle industries including portable electronics. Complicated pore structures have been implemented in active materials to increase energy storage capacity, which often leads to degrade dynamic response of ions. In order to understand this trade-off phenomenon, we report a theoretical model b...