Controlling the Growth of Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube Arrays

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Johal, Malkait

Keywords

Carbon, Nanotube, Growth, Chemical Vapor Deposition

Area of Concentration

Chemistry

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes have great technological potential because of their distinct physical, electrical and thermal properties. A limiting factor in the application of carbon nanotubes is the growth of these structures. Growth is often poor or inconsistent. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of pressure, humidity and gas flow rates to determine the optimal range of parameters for multi-wall nanotube growth. Growth was conducted using a chemical vapor deposition method. A hydrocarbon gas was thermally decomposed and deposited onto a catalyst chip. The results of this study yielded a set of conditions where carbon nanotube growth is consistent and provides tall nanotube arrays. The standard deviation of nanotube heights when grown under these conditions is less than 10 percent indicating that these results are highly reproducible. Using the results from the parametric studies in combination with kinetic data obtained, it is possible to controllably grow multi-wall carbon nanotube forests to any height between 1 �m and 1 mm by choosing the right combination of pressure, humidity, gas flow rate and growth time. The results from the gas flow rate experiments provided some evidence of the presence of a gaseous growth precursor. This gaseous precursor is the necessary component to be absorbed into the catalyst and initiate nanotube growth. These results provide pertinent information about carbon nanotube growth that will aid in their production for future technological applications.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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