Controllable fabrication of carbon nanotubes on catalystic nanoparticles derived from block copolymer micelles

Micellles of poly(cyclohexyl metharylate)-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PCMA-b-P2VP) block copolymer in methanol were used as nanoreactors to fabricate FeCl3 nanoparticles. Then the FeCl₃-loaded micelles solution was used as an ink to print films with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamps, different morphologies of the FeCl₃-loaded micellar films were left onto silicon substrates after printed. After removing the polymer by thermal decomposition, the left iron oxide cluster arrays on the substrate were used as catalysts for the growth of CNTs by the process of PECVD, where the CNTs uniformly distributed on the substrates according to the morphologies of patterned catalysts arrays. Moreover, with a pre-coating of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer onto silicon wafers, CNTs grew vertically onto the substrates with the catalyst nanoparticles, forming aligned and patterned structures.