Effect of tantalum nitride supporting layer on growth and morphology of carbon nanotubes by thermal chemical vapor deposition

The role of tantalum nitride (TaNx) thin films as buffer layers on the control of nucleation and growth of aligned carpet-like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) has been proved. TaNx thin films have been deposited on Si by controlled magnetron sputtering process. Multiwall CNTs have been synthesized at 850 °C using an aerosol of ferrocene diluted in toluene. Electron microscopy images show a strong correlation between the growth rate and morphology of the CNTs and the initial composition of the TaNx thin films. Multi-scale investigations reveal that both morphology and structure of the CNTs are determined by the properties of the TaNx films. Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high resolution TEM imaging at the submicrometric and atomic scales have been used to confirm these hypotheses.