Carbon nanofibers synthesized by decomposition of alcohol at atmospheric pressure

In the present study, we fabricated the carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by decomposition of methyl alcohol at atmospheric pressure. The CNFs were grown on Ni/Si substrates using simplified hot-filament chemical vapor deposition equipment. The deposits mainly consist of the semicrystalline CNFs, in which a few of carbon nanotubes are included. On the 30-nm-thick Ni/Si substrates, the mean length of the CNFs is 2–3 μm, and their average diameter is less than 100 nm. The as-deposited CNFs were evaluated by both scanning and transmission electron microscopes. The field-electron-emission properties of CNFs were characterized as well.