Low-temperature fabrication of carbon nanofibers by self-assembling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with diameter ∼66 nm have been synthesized from coronene by low-temperature (∼45 °C) vacuum sublimation without the aid of a catalyst. Our method makes use of the property of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, which can self-assemble into columnar aggregates. This polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-carbon nanofibers (PAH-CNFs) reveal much better thermal stability than commercial carbon nanotubes and exhibit field-emission characteristics with the onset of an electric field of 5.4 V/μm and field enhancement factor of 1326 cm−1 for 100 μm interelectrode distance. The relative high thermal stability and easier process open up a possibility to fabricate large-scale field-emission devices in an efficient way and to provide a broad range of applications in nanoscience and technology.