Flame synthesis of carbon nanostructures on Ni-plated hardmetal substrates

In this article, we demonstrate that carbon nanostructures could be synthesized on the Ni-plated YG6 (WC-6 wt% Co) hardmetal substrate by a simple ethanol diffusion flame method. The morphologies and microstructures of the Ni-plated layer and the carbon nanostructures were examined by various techniques including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The growth mechanism of such carbon nanostructures is discussed. This work may provide a strategy to improve the performance of hardmetal products and thus to widen their potential applications.