We demonstrate the efficient chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes where the activity and lifetime of the catalysts are enhanced by water. Water-stimulated enhanced catalytic activity results in massive growth of superdense and vertically aligned nanotube forests with heights up to 2.5 millimeters that can be easily separated from the catalysts, providing nanotub...

We have investigated the use of carbon nanotube coated microelectrodes as an interface material for retinal recording and stimulation applications. Test devices were micro-fabricated and consisted of 60, 30 mum diameter electrodes at spacing of 200 mum. These electrodes were coated via chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes, resulting in conducting, three dimensional surfaces with a high...

The initial development of carbon nanotube synthesis revolved heavily around the use of 3d valence transition metals such as Fe, Ni, and Co. More recently, noble metals (e.g. Au) and poor metals (e.g. In, Pb) have been shown to also yield carbon nanotubes. In addition, various ceramics and semiconductors can serve as catalytic particles suitable for tube formation and in some cases hybrid metal...

Individual carbon nanotubes were immersed and removed from various organic liquids using atomic force microscopy. The carbon nanotube-liquid interactions could be monitored in situ, and accurate measurements of the contact angle between liquids and the nanotube surface were made. These wetting data were used to produce Owens and Wendt plots giving the dispersive and polar components of the nano...

Recent results in the field of carbon nanotube-silicon solar cells have suggested that the best performance is obtained when the nanotube film provides good coverage of the silicon surface and when the nanotubes in the film are aligned parallel to the surface. The recently developed process of dry shear aligning - in which shear force is applied to the surface of carbon nanotube thin films in t...

We have characterized both the direct current conductivity and morphology of a wide range of films made from bundled nanotubes, produced by a selection of commercial suppliers. The conductivity increases with increasing nanotube graphitization but decreases with increasing film porosity P and mean bundle diameter D . Computational studies show that the network conductivity is expected to scale ...

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes by Iijima in 1991, researchers have utilized carbon nanotubes for a wide array of applications including nanoelectronics, sensors, and inductively coupled antennas. While current and novel strain transducers can measure strain adequately, their large form factor and cabled data acquisition systems render their use in harsh environments difficult. It has b...