Diameter and density control of single-walled carbon nanotube forests by modulating Ostwald ripening through decoupling the catalyst formation and growth processes.

A continuous and wide range control of the diameter (1.9-3.2 nm) and density (0.03-0.11 g cm(-3) ) of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) forests is demonstrated by decoupling the catalyst formation and SWNT growth processes. Specifically, by managing the catalyst formation temperature and H2 exposure, the redistribution of the Fe catalyst thin film into nanoparticles is controlled while a fixed growth condition preserved the growth yield. The diameter and density are inversely correlated, where low/high density forests would consist of large/small diameter SWNTs, which is proposed as a general rule for the structural control of SWNT forests. The catalyst formation process is modeled by considering the competing processes, Ostwald ripening, and subsurface diffusion, where the dominant mechanism is found to be Ostwald ripening. Specifically, H2 exposure increases catalyst surface energy and decreases diameter, while increased temperature leads to increased diffusion on the surface and an increase in diameter.