| The optimal conditions for the synthesis of water assisted carbon nanotubes (WA-CNT) with respect to length, impurities, crystalline nature and catalyst utilization are determined. The CNT forests with lengths up to 140 microns are grown through chemical vapor deposition at atmospheric pressure in which the role of water is to act as weak oxidizer. The forest bundles had weak adhesion which allowed them to be peeled off easily from the substrate. The optimal conditions to synthesize iron pyrite thin films through low temperature, atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition are also determined. This process results in a low cost and safe deposition process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the CNT Forest and Fe-S thin films. |
