Formation of carbon nanostructures using acetylene, argon-acetylene and argon-hydrogen-acetylene plasmas

Abstract

The amorphous carbon films were deposited on silicon-metal substrates by plasma jet chemical vapor deposition (PJCVD) and plasma enchanted CVD (PECVD). PJCVD carbon films have been prepared at atmospheric pressure in argon-acetylene and argon-hydrogen-acetylene plasma mixtures. The films deposited in Ar-C2H2 plasma are attributed to graphite-like carbon films. The formation of the nanocrystalline graphite was obtained in Ar-H2-C2H2 plasma. Addition of the hydrogen gas lead to the decrease of growth rate and the surface roughness of the coatings. The carbon nanotubes were obtained by PECVD using gold-chromium catalyst particles at low (≤ 450oC; p = 40 Pa ) temperature in pure acetylene plasma.