Two-dimensional metallic nanobowl array transferred onto thermoplastic substrates by microwave heating of carbon nanotubes.

The unique heating property of microwave irradiation on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was applied in fabrication of a new architecture of two-dimensional metallic nanobowl array on a thermoplastic substrate. Vertically aligned CNT film was grown on a metal coated polystyrene (PS) submicron sphere array and then transferred onto a polycarbonate (PC) substrate by microwave heating. The back diffracted light spectra of this structure were measured and discrepancies between the spectra and that predicted from a diffraction relationship were studied. It is suggested that the discrepancies were related to the shape and the refractive indices of the materials.