Hybrid Microstructures from Aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Silica Particles

Colloidal chemistry routes are exploited to assemble low-dimensional structures. The creation of hybrid assemblies of aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on silica microparticle assemblies (see images) opens up possibilities for controlling CNT growth using colloidal chemistry, and sheds light on factors that may hinder aligned CNT growth on low-dimensional structures. Alignment is reinforced by van der Waals interactions between CNTs within each microsphere and those on adjacent closely packed spheres.