Carbon crooked nanotube layers of polyethylene: Synthesis, structure and electron emission Original Research Article

Layers (~ 1 μm thick) of crooked carbon nanotubes 20–60 nm in diameter were obtained at 800 °C by pyrolysis of polyethylene in He atmosphere using a Ni plate as a catalytic substrate. They were identified by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Tips of some tubes (~ 106/cm2) come out of the layer. We studied their field electron emission at 10−9 torr vacuum. 1–10 mA/cm2 current density was observed at 4–10 V/μm (V ~ 100–250 V).