Abstract Submitted to the NANOTUBE'02 Workshop:

A Self-Regulated Electric Contact Arc Discharge in hydrocarbon liquids continuously produces CNT deposits containing 30-50wt % of shorten MWNTs. No catalysts are used to grow the deposits. XRF shows that, normally, metallic admixtures are less than 0.1-0.2 wt% in the raw deposits. Use of catalysts (Co, Ni, Mo) and promoters (S) in the process produces mostly GNFs rather than CNTs. The MWNTs normally have diameters of 3-10 nm and well-controlled lengths in the range of 100-1000 nm. The MWNTs are well-graphitized, close-ended with semispherical and conical caps. Oxidation opens the spherical ends in first turn leaving the conical ones intact. Cold electron emission of powdered MWNTs’ deposits starts at 2-4 V/micron. TEM, XRD, micro-Raman, XRF, AES, optic absorption, electron emission and other data are presented.