Freestanding carbon nanowalls by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition

A two-dimensional wall-like carbon nanostructure, carbon nanowalls, has been synthesized by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) method from a gas mixture of C2H2 and NH3. A growth stage was used to facilitate energy-intensive, localized plasma for the growth of carbon nanowalls. The nanowalls materials were obtained without metal catalyst over a wide range of growth conditions as both surface-bound and non-surface-bound (freestanding) materials. This synthesis process allows easy harvesting of a large amount of carbon nanowalls, uncontaminated by metal catalyst particles and ready for post-growth processing in electrochemical applications. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.