Tubular carbon nano-/microstructures synthesized from graphite powders by an in situ template process

Through the use of commercial graphite powders as the carbon sources, a variety of interesting tubular carbon nano- and microstructures, such as networked carbon nanotubes, aligned carbon microtubes with hexagonal cross-sections, aligned tapered carbon tubes, and hollow carbon microhorns, have been successfully synthesized. As-grown tubular carbon structures were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy. An in situ template mechanism was proposed to explain the possible growth process. The vibrational properties of the synthesized tubular carbon structures were also studied by Raman spectroscopy.