Continuous Growth of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Forests

Abstract

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes are one of the most promising materials due their numerous applications in flexible electronic devices, biosensors and multifunctional aircraft materials, among others. However, the costly production of aligned carbon nanotubes, generally in a batch process, prevents their commercial use. For the first time, a controlled process to grow aligned carbon nanotubes in a continuous manner is presented. Uniform growth is achieved using 2D and 3D substrates. A significant reduction in time, gases, and energy is accomplished, allowing the industrial production of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.