Controlled Fabrication of Large-Scale Aligned Carbon Nanofiber/Nanotube Patterns by Photolithography

Large-scale aligned carbon nanofiber/nanotube patterns have been fabricated by a feasible and inexpensive direct photolithography technique using ordinary black-and-white film as a photomask. Using a calcination/reduction protocol, transition metal salts in the photoresist are transformed to metallic dots, which act as catalysts for the growth of aligned carbon nanotubes (see Figure) by acetylene pyrolysis.