US Patent 7585584 - Branched carbon nanotubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7585584.html

This patent from Samsung teaches a method for increasing the surface area of carbon nanotube arrays used as fuel cell electrodes by growing carbon nanobranches from the sides of the carbon nanotube trunks. Claim 1 reads:

1. Carbon nanotubes, which are directly grown over a carbon substrate, whose internal and external walls are uniformly doped with nano-sized metallic catalyst particles, wherein the carbon nanotubes include a main axis region with a terminal portion and a first portion, wherein the terminal portion is located on the main axis region opposite from the carbon substrate and the first portion is located between the terminal portion and the carbon substrate, and wherein two or more branches branch out symmetrically around the main axis from the first portions to form branched carbon nanotubes.