Synthesis of carbon nanowalls on the surface of nanoporous alumina membranes by RI-PECVD method

•The synthesis of carbon nanowalls on the surface of a nanoporous membrane of aluminum oxide.•The shape and height of synthesized carbon nanowalls depend on the pore size and thickness of the nanoporous substrate.•It was determined that the walls of the CNWs formed on highly porous alumina substrates are thinner, that is, have fewer graphene layers due to the higher vertical growth rate. This work is devoted to the synthesis of carbon nanowalls on the surface of a nanoporous aluminum oxide membrane by radical-injection plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Nanoporous alumina oxide membranes with different morphology and thickness, which were obtained by the method of two-stage electrochemical anodization, were used as a substrate. For comparative analysis, carbon nanowalls were also obtained on the surface of a silicon substrate and aluminum foil. The synthesized nanostructures were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The dependence of the morphology and height of carbon nanowalls on the pore size and the thickness of the alumina membrane, respectively, was revealed.