Deposition of carbon nanofibers on a low carbon steel substrate using an oxy-acetylene reducing flame

Carbon nanofiber (CNF) coatings were successfully deposited on a low carbon steel substrate that was pretreated by con-centrated nitric acid using an oxy-acetylene reducing flame. The morphologies and the microstructures of the CNF coatings were char-acterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The CNFs were compact, entangled with each other, and highly graphitized with diameters from 80 to 100 nm and lengths from 3 to 5 μm. They tended peel off the substrate because of weak adhesion strength. Iron oxide particles were produced on the pretreated low carbon steel substrate surface in the flame, and these acted as growth catalysts for the CNFs.