Growth dynamics of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes from in situ measurements

An in situ optical absorbance measurement was used to study the growth dynamics of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-SWCNTs) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition of ethanol. The growth rate of the VA-SWCNT film was found to decay exponentially from an initial maximum, resulti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Carbon (New York) 2008-05, Vol.46 (6), p.923-930
Main Authors: Einarsson, Erik, Murakami, Yoichi, Kadowaki, Masayuki, Maruyama, Shigeo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Fullerenes and related materials
diamonds, graphite
Materials science
Physics
Specific materials
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Summary:An in situ optical absorbance measurement was used to study the growth dynamics of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-SWCNTs) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition of ethanol. The growth rate of the VA-SWCNT film was found to decay exponentially from an initial maximum, resulting in an effective growth time of approximately 15 min. Investigation of various growth conditions revealed an optimum pressure at which growth is maximized, and this pressure depends on the growth temperature. Below this optimum pressure the synthesis reaction is first-order, and the rate-limiting step is the arrival of ethanol at the catalyst. We also present a novel method for determining the burning temperature of low-mass materials, which combines the in situ absorbance measurement with controlled oxidation.
ISSN:0008-6223
1873-3891
DOI:10.1016/j.carbon.2008.02.021