Differential preheating of hydrocarbon decomposition and water vapor formation shows that single ring aromatic hydrocarbons enhance vertically aligned carbon nanotubes growth

Using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry, we correlated specific carbon species resulting from ethylene decomposition from specific process points to reveal which species favored and which hindered CNT growth. We identified that hydrocarbons composed of one benzene ring connected to different substituents favored CNT growth while hydrocarbons composed of multiple aromatic rings hindered CNT growth. This study can further our understanding of CNT growth mechanisms and help designing complex CVD systems for more efficient synthesis of CNTs.