Novel growth method of carbon nanotubes using catalyst-support layer developed by alumina grit blasting

Abstract

We propose an efficient method of growing carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays on a variety of metals, alloys, and carbon materials using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) assisted by a simple surface treatment of the materials. The main feature of this method is the application of grit blasting with fine alumina particles to the development of a catalyst-support layer required for the growth of CNTs on various conductive materials, including ultra-hard metals such as tungsten. Auger electron spectroscopy shows that grit blasting can form a non-continuous layer where alumina nanoparticles are embedded as residues in the blasting media left on the treated surfaces. This work reveals that such a non-continuous alumina layer can behave as the catalyst-support layer, which is generally prepared by sputter or a vacuum evaporation coating process that considerably restricts the practical applications of CNTs. We have attempted to grow CNTs on grit-blasted substrates of eighteen conventionally used conductive materials using CVD together with a floating iron catalyst. The proposed method was successful in growing multi-walled CNT arrays on the grit-blasted surfaces of all the examined materials, demonstrating its versatility. Furthermore, we found that the group IV metal oxide films thermally grown on the as-received substrates can support the catalytic activity of iron nanoparticles in the CVD process just as well as the alumina film developed by grit blasting. Spectral emissivity of the CNT arrays in the visible and infrared wavelength ranges has been determined to assess the applicability of the CNT arrays as a black coating media.