Enhanced electrochemical activity using vertically aligned carbon nanotube electrodes grown on carbon fiber

• Main Authors: Evandro Augusto de Morais, Gaston Alvial, Rafael Longuinhos, Jose Marcos Andrade Figueiredo, Rodrigo Gribel Lacerda, Andre Santarosa Ferlauto, Luiz Orlando Ladeira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Associação Brasileira de Metalurgia e Materiais (ABM); Associação Brasileira de Cerâmica (ABC); Associação Brasileira de Polímeros (ABPol) 2011-09-01
• Series: Materials Research
• Subjects: vertically aligned carbon nanotubes; plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition; cyclic voltammetry
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-14392011000300020

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes were successfully grown on flexible carbon fibers by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The diameter of the CNT is controllable by adjusting the thickness of the catalyst Ni layer deposited on the fiber. Vertically aligned nanotubes were grown in a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Deposition system (PECVD) at a temperature of 630 ºC, d.c. bias of -600 V and 160 and 68 sccm flow of ammonia and acetylene, respectively. Using cyclic voltammetry measurements, an increase of the surface area of our electrodes, up to 50 times higher, was observed in our samples with CNT. The combination of VACNTs with flexible carbon fibers can have a significant impact on applications ranging from sensors to electrodes for fuel cells.