Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of horizontally aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was studied using two representative carbon source sources: ethanol and methane. The resulting SWNTs were compared for similar reaction conditions which were based on the formation of Ni metal nanoparticles selective electrochemical deposition (SED) on the defect sites of SWNTs. The products were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and SEM. The results demonstrate that methane was much better carbon source for growing high quality horizontal alignment of SWNTs than ethanol due to the etching effects of OH radicals on the SWNTs. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.