Partic. vol. 11 no. 4 pp. 394-400 (August 2013)
doi: 10.1016/j.partic.2012.11.004

Control of iron nanoparticle size by manipulating PEG–ethanol colloidal solutions and spin-coating parameters for the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Choon-Ming Seah^a, Siang-Piao Chai^b, Satoshi Ichikawa^c, Abdul Rahman Mohamed^a,*

chrahman@eng.usm.my

Abstract

Iron catalyst nanoparticles were prepared on silicon wafers by spin-coating colloidal solutions containing iron nitrate, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and absolute ethanol. The effects of various spin-coating conditions were investigated. The findings showed that the size of the iron particles was governed by the composition of the colloidal solution used and that a high angular speed was responsible for the formation of a thin colloidal film. The effect of angular acceleration on the size and distribution of the iron particles were found to be insignificant. It was observed that a longer spin-coating duration provoked the agglomeration of iron particles, leading to the formation of large particles. We also showed that single-walled carbon nanotubes could be grown from the smallest iron catalyst nanoparticles after the chemical vapor deposition of methane.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Iron nanoparticle; Spin coating; Colloid; Single-walled carbon nanotube