Patterning catalyst via inkjet printing to grow single-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract Controlled growth of patterned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is an important issue in many applications. Herein, we demonstrated a method to pattern catalyst via inkjet printing for the growth of SWNTs, using metal salt solutions as the inks and an ordinary office-use printer. We printed water solutions of cobalt acetate on hydrophilic Si substrates and grew high quality SWNT films. The composition of the precursor solutions and the hydrophilicity of the substrates were crucial factors to the patterning.