The growth of N-doped carbon nanotube arrays on sintered Al2O3 substrates

Vertically oriented bamboo-like nitrogen-containing carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays were grown on an alumina (Al2O3) substrate by the injection chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process using ethanol as a carbon source and ethylenediamine as a nitrogen source. The substrate is a sintered Al2O3 plate with a rough surface consisting of polycrystalline Al2O3 micro-grains. The concentration of ferrocene in ethanol played a major role in the growth of CNT arrays. Aligned multi-walled CNT arrays were obtained under optimized catalyst concentrations (0.015 g/ml) and growth temperature (900 °C) with the height of the arrays attaining 160 μm after the growth for 1 h. The growth of CNT occurred predominately between 30 and 40 min and ceased growth beyond 60 min. X-ray photoelectronic spectrum detects the incorporation of nitrogen atoms in the CNTs with an atomic ratio of 1.2%. The present study indicates that it is possible to grow high quality carbon nanotube arrays over a cheap alumina substrate of a rough surface.