Micro fluid contact printing of sol–gel-derived in-situ formed catalysts for the structured growth of carbon nanotubes

We present a novel method for the structured growth of carbon nanotubes using micrometer scaled dots of iron doped alumina and titania as catalyst system. To obtain the dots, sol–gel derived inks are deposited on quartz glass surfaces via a novel micro fluid contact printing (µFCP) method basing on inorganic inks and an Ormocer® hard stamp, and consolidated by a heat treatment. Multiwalled Carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with and without bamboo-like morphology were obtained on this catalytic ceramic dots using a hot filament CVD process based on CH4/Ar/H2 gas mixtures.