In this Phase I STTR project, we plan to demonstrate a new platform for engineering the diameter and packing density of vertically aligned CNT forests, based on a scalable blade casting method of spatially directed evaporative self-assembly of metal catalyst nanoparticles. Using these self-assembled catalyst arrays, CNT forests will be grown by atmospheric pressure thermal CVD, taking advantage of the rapid control capability of the SabreTube furnace system developed by Absolute Nano. The catalysts arrays and CNT forests will be characterized and CNTs by atomic force and electron microscopy, and their key attributes will be compared. In parallel, starting from patterned CNT arrays grown from thin film catalysts, we will prototype and characterize a novel interpenetrating thin-film CNT (IPCNT) capacitor device architecture. At the end of Phase I, we aim to integrate the self-assembly and patterning methods for production of IPCNT device arrays having geometrically-specified properties, and commercialize a blade-casting tool as an instrument for self-assembly of nanoparticles.
Keywords: Nanomanufacturing, Carbon Nanotubes, Catalyst, Nanoparticle, Self-Assembly, Capacitor, Sensor
