Number of Walls Controlled Synthesis of Millimeter-Long Vertically Aligned Brushlike Carbon Nanotubes

Millimeter (mm) long vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were grown by the catalyst assisted thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The continuous growth of CNTs as long as 7 mm was observed after 12 h of deposition by adjusting the growth parameters for making the catalyst active for a long time. The direct dependence of the number of walls of mm-long CNTs on the Fe catalyst thickness was observed. The successful syntheses of single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs), double-walled nanotubes (DWNTs), and multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs) with high percentages (∼80%) were achieved by varying the catalyst layer thickness. The effect of Al₂O₃ buffer layer was found to be critical for this controlled synthesis, which has been discussed in detail. The possible growth mechanism is also discussed to better understand this phenomenon.