Ramified fractal-patterns formed by droplet evaporation of a solution containing single-walled carbon nanotubes

摘要

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in aqueous and ethanol solutions can be self-assembled into ramified fractal-pattems, ring-patterns or fingering-patterns on silicon wafers over a large area under controlled evaporation conditions by the droplet evaporation method. The formation of these regular patterns can be attributed to the Marangoni effect and diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) in the liquid film during droplet evaporation at different conditions. This simple method to assemble SWNTs will provide potential applications for advanced devices and sensors. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.