Wetting behavior and activity of catalyst supports in carbon nanotube carpet growth

A simple, reliable, and non-destructive approach based on contact angle measurements is described for predicting the activity of catalyst supports in carbon nanotube (CNT) carpet growth. The basic component of the surface free energy of different alumina supports - determined from the van Oss-Good-Chaudhury model and the Young-Dupre equation - was found to correlate with the activity of Fe catalyst during water-assisted CVD growth of CNT carpets.