Exposure of Carbon Nanotubes Fabricated by Template-Assisted CVD through a Two-Step Method

Well aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are highly desirable for various studies and applications. Template-assisted chemical vapor deposition has been widely used. However, post growth surface cleaning to remove the junk carbon on sample surface and expose CNTs still relies on either capital intensive facilities or ‘hard to control’ processes. In the letter, we report a mechanical polishing method to remove the amorphous carbon layer. Compared to other conventional surface cleaning methods, mechanical polishing is relatively straightforward, much easier to scale up and does not require expensive instruments. Combined with a wet-etching step, highly ordered CNT arrays were reliably obtained. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were employed to investigate the surface morphology and roughness and to optimize the processing conditions.