Aligning single-wall carbon nanotubes with an alternating-current electric field

Abstract

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were highly aligned by an external electric field. The results suggest that the alignment of SWCNTs shows significant dependencies on the frequency and the magnitude of the applied electric field. The electric field with 5 MHz straightened out the SWCNTs and created highly oriented samples with fewer large particles. We also discussed the mechanism and applications.