TEM observation of the giant carbon nanotube construction using Langmuir-Blodgett films

Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) films, which included Fe atoms as a catalytic metal material, were used for carbon nanotube (CNT) growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A new form of localized nanotube growth was observed to result in a structure called a giant carbon nanotube construction (GNC). The GNC seems to be a self‐assembled knitted structure formed by CNTs. The GNC is thin (∼5 µm in diameter) and long (∼100 µm) and is quite different from a CNT bundle. A growth mechanism for the GNC was developed from the results of TEM, SEM, and Raman spectral analysis. The GNC might find applications for CNT sensors, synthetic fibers, and so on. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.