Single stage synthesis of amorphous carbon covered nanotubes arrays

Abstract Structural features of carbon nanotubes make them highly promising for nanoelectronics, nanosensors, electrodes for energy storage and harvesting devices, composites, and weaving yarns. Carbon nanotubes covered with amorphous carbon can be efficiently applied as field emitters with higher brightness and stability compared to the metal ones. Vertically aligned arrays of the CNTs covered with amorphous carbon were synthesized by modified CVD method in the tube flow reactor via catalytic pyrolysis of acetylene. Stepwise films of iron on single crystal silicon substrate (100) obtained by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method were used as catalyst for their growth. The height of the CNT arrays was found to be dependent on the thickness of iron films. The obtained arrays were formed by multiwalled carbon nanotubes covered with the amorphous carbon. Low thermal stability of acetylene and insufficient activity of iron catalysts at the reaction temperature enable the reproducible formation of vertically aligned amorphous carbon covered CNT arrays promising for electronic applications and carbon textile preparation.