Huan Liu,  Shuhong Li,  Huanjun Li,  Quanshui Zheng,  Lei jiang,  and Daoben Zhu

In this work, it was for the first time that large length-scale force (capillary force) was used in the self-assembly of three-dimensional (3D) micro-patterns on aligned carbon nanotubes films via water spreading method after the film’s growth.  It was proved that the density of nanotubes played an important role in this self-assembly process. So the controlling of the density of carbon nanotubes can artificially build 3-dimensional patterned structures.  Importantly, this method can be extended to both other inorganic nanotubes’ array and organic nanotubes’ array.  Therefore, it is possible to realize the transformation of 1D, 2D to 3D architectures, and is useful in fabricating micro-electrical devices.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. （2004, 1146-1149）