The aluminum (Al) interlayer with various thicknesses ranging from 0.75 to 6 nm was deposited on silicon (Si) substrates prior to the deposition of ultra-thin iron (Fe) catalyst for the growth of carbon nanotubes. In this paper we report the effect of ultra-thin Al interlayer on the growth of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The SEM was used to examine the microstructures of nanotubes. We...

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...

Strategies using carbon-based nanomaterials as carriers for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs to cancers have been described well. Here a novel magnetic lymphatic-targeting drug-delivery system, based on functionalised carbon nanotubes (fCNTs), is presented with the aim of improving the outcome of cancer with lymph node involvement. The potential therapeutic effect of gemcitabine (GEM) loading ...

Conductive films that are both stretchable and flexible could have applications in electronic devices, sensors, actuators and speakers. A substantial amount of research has been carried out on conductive polymer composites, metal electrode-integrated rubber substrates and materials based on carbon nanotubes and graphene. Here we present highly conductive, printable and stretchable hybrid compos...

The electrical resistance of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes and the thermal interface resistance of nanotube arrays are investigated as functions of dc bias voltage used during growth. Nanotubes were grown from Fe2O3 nanoparticles supported on Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) under dc bias voltages of -200, -100, 0, +100, and +200 V. Electrica...

Due to their unique structure and physical properties and numerous potential applications, carbon nanotubes have been extensively studied recently and are expected to attract more attention in the future.1 Morphology control of carbon nanotubes represents one of the most explored directions. Except for the normal linear structure, nanotubes with morphologies of ring,2 rocket,2 branch,3 cone,4 b...

We report electrical transport experiments, using the phenomenon of electrical breakdown to perform thermometry, that probe the thermal properties of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Our results show that nanotubes can readily conduct heat by ballistic phonon propagation. We determine the thermal conductance quantum, the ultimate limit to thermal conductance for a single phonon channel,...