Well-aligned carbon nanotube array membrane synthesized in porous alumina template by chemical vapor deposition

A new simple approach was developed for preparing well-aligned and monodisp ersed carbon nanotube (CNT) array membrane within the cylindrical pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Ac etylene and hydrogen were used in the CVD process with Fe-catalyzer at 700 degrees C under 250 Pa. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed to characterize the resulting high ly-oriented uniform hollow tube array which had a diameter of about 250 nm, a tube density of 5.3x10(8) cm(-2) and a length of about 60 mu m. The leng th and diameter of the tubes depend on the thickness and pore diameter of t he template. The growth properties of the CNT array film can be achieved by controlling the structure of the template, the particle size of fe-catalyz er, the temperature in the reactor, the flow ratio and the deposition time. The highly-oriented and uniform CNT array membrane fabricated by this simp le method is very much useful in a variety of applications.