Supported Ni catalysts from nominal monolayer grow single-walled carbon nanotubes

Ni catalysts tend to yield multi-walled carbon nanotubes when supported on substrates. We screened nominal Ni thickness on a SiO2 substrate and found that Ni nanoparticles did catalyze the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes during chemical vapor deposition only when its nominal thickness was as thin as subnanometers.