US Patent 7442575 - Semiconductor nanowire growth from graphite substrate

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7442575.html

In manufacturing carbon nanotubes graphite is often used as a starting material. This patent from Texas Christian University teaches using graphite as a starting material for silicon nanowire growth as well. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of producing high surface area growth of semiconductor nanowires on conducting substrates, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a selected graphite material as a starting substrate;

growing a semiconductor nanowire on the starting substrate;

detaching the nanowire from the substrate; and

wherein the nanowires are detached from the substrate by pressing and pulling with a porous polymeric body.