Synthesis of high quality, closely packed vertically aligned carbon nanotube array and a quantitative study of the influence of packing density on the collective thermal conductivity

In this work, we present the effect of packing density of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) array on its thermal conductivity, as a step closer to its application in thermal interface materials (TIMs). High quality, closely packed VACNT array is synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Cyclic catalyst deposition is performed to increase the packing density of VACNT array. Liquid precursor is applied to adjust the growth rate and keep the uniformity of the final thickness of the samples. The thermal conductivity of the VACNT array is greatly enhanced with the packing density, from 45.2 W/m K to 75.5 W/m K.