Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 September 2018
A synthesis method to form foams consisting of a shell of metals conformally coated on carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays by electroplating from a single bath electrolyte is demonstrated in this work. A triple cyclic pulse electrodeposition technique was used to deposit Ni and Cu layers on the CNT arrays, and electron microscopy was then used to identify conditions amenable to semi-conformal and island growth morphologies. Nanoindentation of the resulting metallic-CNT composite foam structure, using a flat punch/compression geometry, demonstrates that adding metallic shells to the CNT turf to create a metallic low density foam increases both the hardness and elastic modulus; however, once island growth initiates there is no significant subsequent increase in mechanical properties with increases in deposited metals.