Fabrication of carbon nanotube/graphene core/shell nanostructures on SiO2 substrates using organic solvents: A molecular dynamics study

Abstract

Using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that it is difficult to fabricate single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/carbon nanoscroll (CNS) core/shell nanostructures on solid substrates because of the strong interaction between the graphene (GN) and the substrate. We propose an effective way to reduce the interaction between the GN and the substrate; SWNT/CNS core/shell nanostructures can be fabricated easily on SiO2 substrates by exploiting the volatilization of organic solvents, and inducement with SWNTs. These SWNT/CNS core/shell nanostructures on SiO2 substrates have the potential to be applied in telecom network transmission, or as electronic components in apparatuses such as microcircuit interconnects, nanoelectronics devices, heterojunctions, or sensors. © 2012 The Author(s).