AVS 47th International Symposium
    Nanotubes - Science and Applications Tuesday Sessions
       Session NM+NS-TuM

Paper NM+NS-TuM3
Carbon Nanotube Catalyst Optimization Using Combinatorial Methods

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 9:00 am, Room 309

Session: Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis
Presenter: A.M. Cassell, NASA Ames Research Center
Authors: A.M. Cassell, NASA Ames Research Center
M. Meyyappan, NASA Ames Research Center
S. Verma, NASA Ames Research Center
J. Han, NASA Ames Research Center
Correspondent: Click to Email
Libraries of liquid-phase catalyst precursor solutions were printed onto various substrates and evaluated for their effectiveness in catalyzing the growth of carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of ethylene. The catalyst precursors were composed of inorganic salt solutions of Al, Si, Fe, Co, Ni, and a removable tri-block copolymer structure-directing agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to rapidly screen the catalyst libraries for activity. The optimized catalysts were then employed in the growth of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube arrays. Successful implementation of combinatorial optimization methods in the development of high yielding carbon nanotube catalysts is demonstrated, as well as useful techniques for obtaining nanotube films of various configurations.