Selective synthesis of diamond and CNT nanostructures directly on stainless steel substrates

Abstract Without surface pretreatment or applying additional interlayer, diamond films have been directly synthesized on an Fe–25Cr–5Al steel substrate by a hot filament chemical vapor deposition method from an H 2 -1vol.% CH 4 gas mixture. Due to an effective removal of intermediate graphite phase from the diamond–steel interface, the coated diamond films were continuous and adherent well to the steel substrate. Aligned conical diamond structures were also achieved on this steel substrate by negatively biasing the substrate holder and inducing a glow discharge. The deposition behavior of carbon on Fe–Cr–Ni steel substrate was different. A graphite-rich carbon film incorporated with diamond particles grew in the absence of biasing, then aligned carbon nanotube bundles were formed in the presence of negative biasing and glow discharge. The different deposition behavior of carbon on the two kinds of steel substrates was addressed in terms of the effect of their chemical compositions.