Authors:
C. A. Coelho
;
A. T. Sepúlveda
;
L. A. Rocha
and
A. F. Silva
Affiliation:
University of Minho, Portugal
Keyword(s):
Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs), Biomedical Applications.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Biomedical Engineering
;
Biomedical Equipment
;
Biomedical Instruments and Devices
;
Nanotechnologies
Abstract:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), due to their unique properties, are suitable for application in biomedical devices.
However these devices are not available in the market because of problems associated with biocompatibility
and synthesis reproducibility. Indeed, the production of vertically aligned-carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) is
needed for most of these applications. The most common synthesis method, Chemical Vapor Deposition
(CVD), involves a large number of parameters, not all known, and their influence on the process is not fully
understood. Knowing that the synthesis of CNTs is performed in a variety of lab conditions and in different
furnace systems, which makes it impossible to create a universal recipe for use in all labs, this paper aims to
start the design of an universal protocol that all labs can use to generate a suitable recipe for their
environmental conditions and furnace system. The influence of parameters such as best deposition spot and
tube baking was assessed. During this
evaluation, the importance of other factors (catalyst uniformity and
climacteric conditions) to the process has been revealed. The universal protocol suggested is in an early
stage and needs to be improved.
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