Building carbon nanotubes and their smart architectures

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes have fascinating physical properties. In order to use these novel one-dimensional structures for applications (such as in electronic devices, mechanical reinforcements and nano-electromechanical systems) the structure of nanotubes needs to be tailored and various architectures have to be configured using nanotube building blocks. Firstly, in this paper we focus on the directed and self-assembly of nanotubes on planar substrates into hierarchical structures that include oriented arrays, and ordered bundles. These structures are achieved by patterning substrates with or without metal catalysts. Growth of nanotubes is typically achieved by chemical vapor deposition. Various strategies to build two- and three-dimensional architectures of nanotubes are described by this method. In addition to creating pristine nanotube arrays on planar substrates, the paper also covers some of our recent efforts in fabricating nanotube polymer hybrids. Recent efforts and challenges in manipulating nanotubes on surfaces and measuring transport properties are discussed. Results of noise measurements carried out on individual nanotubes; surface potential mapping and very high, long-term current carrying capacity (109–1010 A cm−2) are reported. In conclusion, a perspective is given on our recent efforts in creating controlled structures with nanotubes and measuring some of their properties.