Abstract: An adhesive semisolid mixture was used as catalyst precursors for the synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). With atomic forcemicroscopy (AFM),worn-out silicon probeswere driven to approach the glue-like catalyst precursors, followed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Thus SWNTs were successfully located on the end of silicon probes as AFM tips. The as-prepared SWNTs and tips were characterized, and the effect of SWNT morphology on imaging stabilization was discussed. The results showed that most of tips were SWNT bundles, which were 5-10 nm in diameter, several hundred nanometers in length and independent of severe thermal vibration. When SWNTs were parallel to the axis of silicon pyramids, the tips could obtain high-resolution images without additional treatments.

Key words: SWNTs, AFM, CVD, Probe