| Abstract
| - Microcontact printing is used to transfer an Fe(III)-containing gel-like catalyst precursor from ahydrophilized elastomeric stamp to a substrate. The catalytic pattern activates the growth of multiwallcarbon nanotubes using chemical vapor deposition of acetylene. Our results show that the choice of thecatalyst is of extreme importance. Most of the aqueous and ethanolic Fe(III) inks used give rise to dryingeffects on the stamp surface, which lead to the formation of islands of the catalyst within the pattern. Toavoid these shortcomings, we developed a catalyst precursor, which has better performance on the stampand as a catalyst on the substrate. Simple aging of the ethanolic Fe(III) ink results in a polymerized gel-likecatalyst, which can be printed homogeneously on the substrate with excellent contrast. Changing theconcentration of the catalyst in the ink allows the density of the carbon nanotubes in the film to be tuned.A scanning anode field emission microscope was used to investigate the microscopic field emission propertiesof the samples. The emission images reproduce the topographical contrast nicely and prove the highquality of the patterning process.
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