Patterning Colloidal Metal Nanoparticles for Controlled Growth of Carbon Nanotubes

Single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWCNT) arrays are generated on catalyst patterns with controlled location, orientation, and spacing using a straightforward approach. Dip-pen nanolithography is used to fabricate catalyst patterns with sub-70 nm resolution, and SWCNTs are successfully grown on these patterns through chemical vapor deposition. The growth direction of the SWCNTs on quartz is controlled, and along the [100] crystallographic direction.