Ferrocene and Inconel assisted growth of dense carbon nanotube forests on copper foils

Abstract

Aligned growth of carbon nanotubes on copper substrates has been achieved using a nickel-based catalyst, Inconel, which is first deposited on the copper foil substrate before the growth of nanotubes via thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD). An additional catalyst, iron, is supplied by mixing ferrocene with the carbon feedstock, xylene, during the CVD growth. For specific ranges of the film thickness, 10–12 nm, and under certain growth conditions, dense, aligned growth of carbon nanotubes is observed. This technique represents a relatively simple process for direct growth of carbon nanotubes on copper substrates without the need for additional barrier layers and plasma-enhanced CVD techniques. Scanning electron microscopy was used to qualitatively evaluate the density of the nanotubes and the tendency to align in a direction perpendicular to the substrates. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to examine the structure and quality of the nanotubes, as well as the composition of the catalyst particles.