Controlled Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from a Line Patterned Mesoporous Silica Template

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with controlled orientation and diameter (1-4 nm) were grown from thermally stable, highly ordered mesoporous SiO2 thin films by methane chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Controlled incorporation of Fe precursor into pore channels of the mesoporous SiO2 by a sol-gel process results in a nanostructure catalytically active for CNT growth and stable to typical CVD temperatures. Growth of CNTs starts within the mesoporous SiO2, whose pore direction and pore dimension play an important role in the orientation and diameter of the CNTs at the early stage of the growth. Lateral growth results in a parallel assembly of CNTs with controlled tube dimension from a line-micropattemed mesoporous SiO2 film fabricated by soft-lithography.