Apparatus and Method for Synthesizing Carbon Nanotube Array on Stainless Steel Plate – IP 1831

Due to theirunique physical structures, including one dimensionality, high surface area,high aspect ratio, and exceptional electronic, mechanical and thermalproperties, CNTs have shown potential for a number of different applications.Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is used to synthesize verticallyaligned CNT (VACNT) arrays at lower temperatures. However, many PECVDtechniques are complex, expensive, and limited to research laboratory scale,which make them unsuitable for the large-scale production. There is also thepossibility of having a weak attachment of catalyst nanoparticles to thesubstrate, which helps cause degradation of VACNT composites over time. Hence,for the applications like field emission, electrodes and sensors, it isdesirable to grow VACNTs directly on a conducting catalytic substrate withoutaddition of an external catalyst layer. FIU inventors have developed methodsand apparatuses for the synthesis of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT)arrays directly on a catalytic conductive substrate without the addition of an externalmetallic catalyst layer and without any pretreatment to the substrate surfaceby using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The VACNTshave uniform length, good alignment, and uniform coverage over the catalyticconductive substrate surface. Anne Laure Schmitt Olivier aschmitt@fiu.edu 305-348-5948