Catalyst-free growth of carbon nanotubes on nonplanar polycrystalline silicon carbide substrates for electrochemical and photochemical applications

We have investigated and evaluated the catalyst free growth of carbon nanotubes on nonplanar, polycrystalline silicon carbide foam. The motivation for this work is to fabricate materials with hyper-extended surface areas containing carbon nanotubes that demonstrate stable mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. We are expanding the properties of the material by chemically derivatizing the carbon nanotube layer with redox catalysts for fuel cell and battery applications. These hyper-extended surface area redox catalysts will allow the fabrication of miniaturized, large power density power sources for unmanned aerial vehicles, satellite and portable electronic devices.