Increased Graphitization in Electrospun Single Suspended Carbon Nanowires Integrated with Carbon-MEMS and Carbon-NEMS Platforms

Single suspended carbon nanowires (CNWs) integrated on carbon-MEMS (CMEMS) structures are fabricated by electrospinning of SU-8 photoresist followed by pyrolysis. These monolithic CNW-CMEMS structures enable fabrication of very high aspect ratio CNWs of predefined length. The CNWs thus fabricated display core-shell structures having a graphitic shell with a glassy carbon core. The electrical conductivity of these CNWs is increased by about 100% compared to glassy carbon as a result of enhanced graphitization. We suggest some tunable fabrication and pyrolysis parameters that may improve graphitization in the resulting CNWs, making them a good replacement for several carbon nanostructure-based devices.