Harvesting of large, substrate-free sheets of vertically aligned multiwall carbon nanotube arrays

Continuous multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) synthesis, using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a xylene/ferrocene feedstock, produces MWCNT arrays comprised of dense stands of mutually collimated MWCNTs, each with their axis normal and anchored to the growth substrate. A method for non-destructively removing relatively large-scale MWCNT arrays, intact, from the growth substrate is herein reported. This harvesting technique yields a free-standing MWCNT array sheet composed of vertically aligned MWCNTs. Slight inter-MWCNT entanglement along their axes, inherent to the growth process, provides sufficient rigidity for handling and manipulation. Lastly, the integrity of the growth substrates is not compromised, and can be reused. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.