Patterned attachment of carbon nanotubes to silane modified silicon

A monolayer of methyl terminated hexadecyltrichlorosilane was self-assembled onto a p-type silicon (1 0 0) substrate to provide a resist for electrochemical anodisation with an atomic force microscope cantilever. Through precise control of the cantilever’s position on the surface and the applied bias voltage, a variety of different surface architectures have been fabricated on the substrate. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), with high carboxylic acid functionality, have been immobilised to these etched regions using a condensation reaction. Highly selective condensation has been shown to be possible, both directly onto etched silicon regions as well as with the use of amine terminated 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as a molecular anchor. This has enabled the controlled attachment of nanotubes on nanoscale features.