US Patent 8003165 - Electroless plating of catalyst for nanotube growth

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8003165.html

This patent from Applied Nanotech has priority going back to 2001 and includes some basic claims for growing carbon nanotubes based on electroless plating of the catalyst. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method comprising the steps of:

coating nanoparticles with a catalyst, wherein the catalyst has a property that promotes carbon nanotube growth thereupon, wherein the coating step uses an electroless plating bath process to coat the catalyst onto the nanoparticles;

depositing the nanoparticles coated with the catalyst onto a substrate; and

growing carbon nanotubes on the nanoparticles.