ABSTRACT
Graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are excellent candidate materials for advanced applications because of their unique electrical, optical, and mechanical properties combined with a high surface area. Understanding the effects of experimental parameters of the processes is the basis for tailoring the resulting material so as to enable applications. Initially, studying thermal decomposition of solids was for the purpose of examining thermal stability of materials. With the discovery of epitaxial growth of graphene and self-aligned CNTs on the crystal surfaces of silicon carbide, thermal decomposition has developed into a facile method of producing catalyst-free, high-purity, and highly homogeneous carbon. The small whisker diameter enables direct observation in the transmission electron microscope. The vacuum-annealed whiskers kept their original shape as shown in scanning electron microscopy micrographs. Before transformation into carbon, the silicon carbide (SiC) surfaces undergo a number of surface reconstructions that are dependent on the temperature and the crystal polarity.
