Patterning of Forests of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) Using Copper Overlayers as Iron Catalyst Deactivators

We show a simple technique to grow patterned carbon nanotube (CNT) forests by annealing the catalytic surface using copper patterns (as stencil or bridge) prior to, or during, CNT growth. We demonstrate that copper diffused into the iron catalyst and deactivated it, thus preventing CNT growth on the areas where the copper was present. This technique is a promising and simple way to pattern CNT forests since it does not require the usual lithography and lift-off of the catalyst. This catalyst deactivating overlayer principle can be extended to pattern other 1D nanostructures such as carbon nanofibers or nanowires and 2D nanostructures such as graphene or transition metal dichalcogenides using chemical vapor deposition (CVD).