Order in vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays

Abstract

We report the direct measurements on the bulk morphology of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). SANS measurements at different heights of CNT arrays corresponding to different stages of the growth reveal increasing alignment order along the thickness and two distinctly different CNT morphologies. The observations suggest that the evolution of the macroscopic CNT morphologies be driven by competing collective growth and spatial constraints. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.