Aerosol catalyst particles for substrate CVD synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were grown by a CVD method on thin SiO2 films using iron and carbon monoxide as the catalyst material and the carbon source, respectively. Catalyst particles were produced via physical vapor deposition (PVD) as an aerosol using a hot-wire particle generator and then deposited by two different approaches. Particles collected onto the substrates by diffusion inside the reactor led to the production of large diameter SWCNTs (similar to 3-6 nm) with lengths up to 30 gm. An outside deposition, via electrostatic precipitator, resulted in the synthesis of longer SWCNTs (>= 50 mu m) with smaller diameters (<2 nm).