Growth of Super Long Aligned Brush-Like Carbon Nanotubes

Efficient chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis of super long (7 mm) aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high-density is reported here. Activity of catalyst nanoparticles has been achieved for very long time periods (ca. 12 h) by optimization of experimental parameters. The relative levels of ethylene and water, as well as those of ethylene and H2, were found to be most important for achieving extended-time activity of the catalyst. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images revealed that the nanotubes were mainly double-walled, but very few single-walled and multi-walled nanotubes were also present in the sample.