Amorphous carbon fibrilliform nanomaterials prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Carbon nanomaterials were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and hot-filament CVD (HF-CVD) methods. The substrates were silicon (100) and copper plates on which catalytic metal or metal-oxide thin films were coated by means of the cathodic are deposition technique. Ethylene gas was used as a precursor. HF-CVD with a filament temperature of 1,000 degrees C yielded a larger amount of carbon deposit at a lower furnace temperature of 600 degrees C. High-resolution microscopic observation revealed a variety of amorphous carbon nanomaterials, such as frost columns, coral beads, microcoils, nanocoils, and amorphous nanotubes.