Self-assembly of CuSO 4 nanoparticles and bending multi-wall carbon nanotubes on few-layer graphene surfaces

S. H. Al-Harthi*, M. Al-Barwani, M. Elzain, Ashraf T. Al-Hinai, N. Al-Naamani, Issa Al-Amri, T. Hysen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

When a colloidal suspension is allowed to wet a suitable substrate, various patterns emerge that can be varied from isolated island-like structures to fractal patterns. In this work we investigate the patterns arising from the interplay of colloidal copper sulfate suspensions containing carbon nanotubes with few-layer graphene substrates. The compositions of the thin film samples were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface topography and the nanostructure of the thin films were probed with atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope respectively. The colloidal suspensions were characterized using contact angle and viscosity measurements. The colloidal suspensions when dip coated on few-layer graphene substrates exhibited fractal like morphology with the aggregation of copper sulfate crystallites to hexagonal platelets. This aggregation is explained invoking the depletion attraction theory. The various patterns observed experimentally were reproduced using a Monte Carlo simulation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)469-477
Number of pages9
JournalApplied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing
Volume105
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Self-assembly of CuSO 4 nanoparticles and bending multi-wall carbon nanotubes on few-layer graphene surfaces'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this