Growth of carbon nanotubes from titanium dioxide nanoparticles

► TiO2 nanoparticles are active for CNTs growth. ► CNTs diameter depends on the size of TiO2 which can be controlled by sputtering time. ► SWNTs produced from TiO2 have narrow diameter distribution. ► In situ patterned SWNTs can be easily fabricated by sputtering approach.