Lateral growth of aligned mutilwalled carbon nanotubes under electric field

In this work we report laterally aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) by an electric field during growth. The MWNTs were selectively grown between lateral sides of the catalytic metals on predefined electrodes by chemical-vapor deposition. The electric field distribution for various geometries was simulated using Maxwell 2D simulation in order to realize better alignment of laterally grown carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The experimental results show that the electric field direction at the vicinity of catalyst and nanotubes–substrate interactions are principal factor in aligning CNTs laterally.