Synthesis of highly aligned carbon nanotubes in liquid phase

Aligned carbon nanotube arrays (CNTAs) were readily synthesized by a resistance heating method on a substrate of commercially available stainless steel which has more plentiful availability than the wafers of Si and quarts. The catalyst was supported on the substrate by dip coating with a methanol solution of M(C5H5)(2)(M=Co,Fe), and the substrate was electrically heated at 800 degrees C in methanol. Highly aligned CNTAs were grown from the catalyst prepared from 0.02 M Co(C5H5)(2) methanol solution. The alignment was influenced by the concentration and the kind of M(C5H5)(2).