Density control of carbon nanofibers on titanium buffer layer using electroplated Ni catalyst

In this paper, we applied titanium buffer layer between catalytic material and substrate, coupled with direct current electroplating technique in order to control the density of catalytic material. Ni catalysts were formed by a direct current electroplating method. Ni islands were formed on the substrate with titanium layer, while Ni continuous films were formed on the substrate without titanium layer. Also, the density of Ni islands on the Ti layer/substrate was controlled by the current density and electroplating time in electroplating process. CNFs were synthesized using a direct current plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system at about 480degC.