Speakers - 2026

Title: Formation of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on metal substrates

Abstract

Energy storage and field emission applications such as displays, electrodes in super capacitors and batteries and X ray emitters demand direct growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) forests on conducting metal substrates. These applications require a complicated and cost demanding challenge for several decade since the discovery of nanotubes. Here we report a low-cost production of VACNT forest on different metals such as stainless steel (SS), carbon steel and copper using Pulsed dc plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of carbon from a mixture of H2 and CH4 or C2H2 without the use of a separate step of a metal catalyst deposition. FESEM, EDX and Raman examinations revealed the growth and graphitic properties of multiwalled carbon nano-tubes, nano fibers and cones formed on the surface of these metals during the PECVD process. It seems the growth of nano carbon structure was an upward growth process. As the particles on the tips of the VACNTs were found to be crystalline Fe metal. Vertically aligned CNTs (VACNTs) with around 20 to 100 nm in diameter and 4 to 5 um in length were successfully grown on the SS304 and copper substrates. The I V curves of these VACNTs showed a much higher current capacities than that of graphite on metal substrates.