Characterizing Vibrationally Induced Damage of Carbon Nanotube Forests

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been a topic of scientific interest due to their high tensile strength, high aspect ratio geometry, and unique electromagnetic characteristics. Carbon nanotube forests, vertically aligned CNT arrays grown on substrates, have specifically been considered to assist with space-faring sensor applications due to their extremely low photon and electron reflectivity. Three multi-walled CNT forests of varying height and density were submitted to intense off-axis shaking with g-forces similar to those experienced during rocket liftoff. Scanning electron imagery, optical UV/Vis/NIR reflectivity, and electron yield were measured before and after the samples had been shaken to characterize changes. A drastic morphological change was apparent on the edges of the samples, yet optical reflectivity and electron yield produced no substantial variance. This provides evidence that CNT forests are robust enough to in survive the transit into space for integral sensor applications.