Growth of sub-millimeter long vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes arrays for sensing applications

Over the last decade carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as alternate material for many sensing applications due to their unique properties. Their exceptional electromechanical properties make them suitable for pressure/strain sensing application. Other than based on their structure and number of walls (i.e. Single-Walled CNTs and Multi-Walled CNTs), carbon nanotubes can also be categorized on the basis of their collective arrangement and orientation. One such category is vertically aligned Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs), often termed as CNTs forest, arrays or mat is macroscopic form of CNTs in which MWCNTs are vertical to the surface and aligned to each other. Foam like behavior (high elasticity) along with extraordinary electromechanical (high gauge factor) make it suitable for pressure/strain sensing applications. Synthesis of such CNTs by floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) process has been presented in this research work. The effect and optimization of process/growth parameters has also been discussed, primarily the effect of inclusion of hydrogen to the FCCVD process, which can lead to better quality and increase in length of CNTs arrays. © 2019, Microscopy Society of Malaysia. All rights reserved.