Thermally oxidized aluminum as catalyst-support layer for vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotube growth using ethanol

Characteristics and role of Al oxide (Al-O) films used as catalyst-supportlayer for vertical growth of single-walledcarbonnanotubes (SWCNTs) were studied. EB-deposited Al films (20 nm) were thermallyoxidized at 400 °C (10 min, static air) to produce the most appropriate surface structure of Al-O. Al-O catalyst-supportlayers were characterized using various analytical measurements, i.e., atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and spectroscopy ellipsometry (SE). The thermallyoxidized Al-O has a highly roughened surface, and also has the most suitable surface chemical states compared to other type of Al-O supportlayers. We suggest that the surface of thermallyoxidized Al-O characterized in this work enhanced Co catalyst activity to promote the verticallyaligned SWCNT growth