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Abstract Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) were synthesized on different oxide buffer layers using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The growth of the VACNTs was mainly determined by three factors: the Ostwald ripening of catalyst nanoparticles, subsurface diffusion of Fe, and their activation energy for nucleation and initial growth. The surface roughness of buffer layers largely influenced the diameter and density of catalyst nanoparticles after annealing, which apparently affected the lifetime of the nanoparticles and the thickness of the prepared VACNTs. In addition, the growth of the VACNTs was also affected by the deposition temperature, and the lifetime of the catalyst nanoparticles apparently decreased when the deposition temperature was greater than 600 °C due to their serious Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, in addition to the number of catalyst nanoparticles, the density of the VACNTs was also largely dependent on their activation energy for nucleation and initial growth.

Abstract In this article, a carbon nanotube (CNT) array-based system combined with a polymer thin film is proposed as an effective drug release device directly at cellular level. The polymeric film embedded in the CNT array is described and characterized in terms of release kinetics, while in vitro assays on PC12 cell line have been performed in order to assess the efficiency and functionality of the entrapped agent (neural growth factor, NGF). PC12 cell differentiation, following incubation on the CNT array embedding the alginate delivery film, demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The achieved results indicate that polymeric technology could be efficiently embedded in CNT array acting as drug delivery system at cellular level. The implication of this study opens several perspectives in particular in the field of neurointerfaces, combining several functions into a single platform.

Hierarchically structured MWCNT (h-MWCNT)-based cold cathodes were successfully achieved by means of a relatively simple and highly effective approach consisting of the appropriate combination of KOH-based pyramidal texturing of Si (100) substrates and PECVD growth of vertically aligned MWCNTs. By controlling the aspect ratio (AR) of the Si pyramids, we were able to tune the field electron emission (FEE) properties of the h-MWCNT cathodes. Indeed, when the AR is increased from 0 (flat Si) to 0.6, not only the emitted current density was found to increase exponentially, but more importantly its associated threshold field (TF) was reduced from 3.52 V/μm to reach a value as low as 1.95 V/μm. The analysis of the J- E emission curves in the light of the conventional Fowler-Nordheim model revealed the existence of two distinct low-field (LF) and high-field (HF) FEE regimes. In both regimes, the hierarchical structuring was found to increase significantly the associated β and β field enhancement factors of the h-MWCNT cathodes (by a factor of 1.7 and 2.2, respectively). Pyramidal texturing of the cathodes is believed to favor vacuum space charge effects, which could be invoked to account for the significant enhancement of the FEE, particularly in the HF regime where a β as high as 6,980 was obtained for the highest AR value of 0.6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]