USE OF THE ELECTRIC FIELDS FOR THE MANIPULATION OF MWCNTs.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have aroused great interest due to their exceptional properties like high current-carrying capacity, high thermal conductivity and reduced charge carrier scattering, that are very attractive for solving the technological hurdles that the semiconductor industry is facing as the circuit scaling continues. The use of both individual nanotubes and CNT networks have been explored, depending on the specific applications [1]. The physical properties depend on the density of CNT layers and the density itself guides the specific application, from flexible electronics to chemical and biological sensors; from optically transparent electrodes to nanoporous electrodes for energy storages [2]. Different approaches have been proposed [3-9] to manipulate CNTs and, in particular, to form conductive networks by means of post-synthesis deposition methods. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) [10] is one of these methods, and is a very simple technique that offers the possibility to form patterned coatings of substrates. In particular, our results obtained using CNTs produced by arc discharge and chemical vapour deposition show that a suitable choice of the experimental conditions allows to deposit CNT networks on both conducting and insulating substrates.