Growth of carbon nanotube filaments on carbon fiber cloth by catalytic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) filaments were grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition on 2-D weave carbon fiber (CF) cloth substrates. Two different sets of experiments were carried out to understand the growth mechanism of these filaments. In the first set of experiments where CF cloths were coated with the catalysts particles, CNT filaments having long length (>200 μm) and large diameter (15–25 μm) were obtained. In another set of experiment, where CF cloths without catalyst particles were used, only MWCNTs without any filament formation were obtained. On the basis of the results, a growth mechanism has been proposed. These MWCNT filaments can be used for preparing CNTs reinforced polymer composites having very good structural properties, which are being sought after.