Confined Growth of Carbon Nanotubes in Nanocutting Channel on Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite

Graphite surface can be etched by metal particles because of the catalytic hydrogenation, resulting in unique etching channels along crystallographic high-symmetry directions that provide new possibilities for confinement applications. Herein, we demonstrate a confined growth carbon nanotubes (CNT) inside nanocutting channels on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). In particular, nickel (Ni) nanoparticles were used as catalytic knife to cut HPOG for creating channels with both zig-zag and armchair graphene edge types. Subsequently, multiwall CNTs were grown along the edge inside channels by reacting Ni nanoparticles catalyzing. It was found that the CNTs inside channels could be grown together along same orientation instead of aggregation, which may bring out a new idea on the controllable synthesis of carbon nanotubes.