Research on deposition of carbon nanotubes on APTES self-assembled monolayers

For deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on a surface of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), an ultra-smooth (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane (APTES) SAMs with amino-terminal groups was prepared on a silicon substrate before deposition of CNTs because CNTs can be deposited on the surface of the APTES SAMs and positioned easily, CNTs were deposited on the SAMs after it was immerged into the N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) suspension with CNTs. It is found that temperature, time and concentration of CNTs in the suspension greatly affect deposition of CNTs. The experimental results indicate that deposition of CNTs is enhanced with increasing of temperature and concentration of CNTs in the suspension and lasting of time. The results can be used to effectively position the CNTs on APTES SAMs and fabricate the nano-electronic devices with CNTs.