Growth Kinetics of Wall-Number Controlled Carbon Nanotube Arrays

Abstract

We present a simple model for the growth and termination of carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays. This model was developed by modifying several submodels and provides a comprehensive predictive tool for the CNT growth process as a function of CNT wall number. Wall number, diameter, and areal density-controlled CNT arrays were grown on a reduced graphene film by combining block copolymer lithography and plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. The number of carbonaceous platelets required for the termination of CNT growth process was measured by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and the effective exposed catalyst surface area was measured by high magnification scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A parametric study showed that our simple kinetic model successfully predicted the kinetics of wall number-dependent CNT growth and could be used to optimize the PECVD process for CNT production.