Carbon nanotube synthesized on metallic substrates

Well-aligned carbon nanotubes films were synthesized by a pyrolytic method with aluminum and silicon as substrates. The substrate was coated with a thin film of Fe NO3.3. This film was transformed by subsequent heating into Fe2O clusters with a diameter of a few nanometers. Nanotubes were synthesized from acetylene at a temperature between 6308C and 7508C. The nanotubes observed are ‘‘multiwall’’ type with a length in the range of 1–10 mm and a diameter of 5–100 nm. The growth of the nanotubes is a function of the film thickness of deposited Fe NO3.3 film as well as the temperature. The nanotubes deposited on aluminum exhibit excellent properties as electrode material in electrochemical double layer capacitors ECDLs.. q2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved