Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes with Unintentional Secondary Growth of Carbon Nanofibers on Graphene

The graphene-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hybrid structures are known to be promising in improving typical electrodes and on-chip interconnect materials, such as copper and tungsten. This work was initially carried out to grow CNTs on graphene on copper (Cu) foil in CVD at 800°C with reaction time of 20 and 30 mins. However, the experiment has unintentionally grown secondary carbon nanofibers (CNFs) in clusters. Both the 20 and 30 mins reaction time has been found to produce CNTs with secondary growth of CNFs. However, the distribution and the size of clusters are different. Based on the results obtained, the growth process and parameters can be further fine-tuned to obtain a controlled formation of CNTs and CNFs.