Morphology of carbon nanotubes prepared by carbon arc

Carbon nanotubes were obtained as deposits on the cathode of carbon arc in He and CH 4 gases. The morphology of carbon nanotubes was observed by scanning electron microscopy of the top surface of the cathode deposit, and was found to change with evaporation conditions. The variation of carbon nanotube morphology was more marked for the case of evaporation in CH 4 gas than that in He gas. Thick carbon nanotubes embellished with a number of nanoparticles were obtained on the cathode of carbon arc under the conditions of high CH 4 gas pressure and high dc arc current.