Carbon nanotube synthesized on metallic substrates

Well-aligned carbon nanotubes films were synthesized by a pyrolytic method with aluminum and silicon as substrates. The substrate was coated with a thin film of Fe(NO,),. This film was transformed by subsequent heating into Fe2O clusters with a diameter of a few nanometers. Nanotubes were synthesized from acetylene at a temperature between 630 degrees C and 750 degrees C. The nanotubes observed are "multiwall" type with a length in the range of 1-10 mu m and a diameter of 5-100 nm. The growth of the nanotubes is a function of the film thickness of deposited Fe(NO3)(3) film as well as the temperature. The nanotubes deposited on aluminum exhibit excellent properties as electrode material in electrochemical double layer capacitors (ECDLs). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.