Multi-walled carbon nanotube growth on oxidized silicon substrates using cyclohexane precursor by chemical vapor deposition

Randomly oriented multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs) are grown by a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process from cyclohexane precursor on a 20% copper–80% nickel (Cu–Ni) catalyst on oxidized silicon substrates. This combination of precursor and catalyst, to our knowledge, has been employed for the first time to demonstrate growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The effects of annealing, gas ambient and catalyst layer thickness on the morphology of the grown carbon layers are discussed. The low resistivity values of the MWNTs grown on oxidized silicon substrates are attractive for their potential use in photonic devices and display applications.