This study investigates the transition of carbon flakes to porous carbon fibres (PCF) through vaporisation fragments of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and their in situ condensation under the co-gas atmosphere of N 2 and CO 2 (v/v ¼ 1), where CO 2 plays a vital role in cutting out vaporizable PAH fragments. The polycrystalline PCF exhibit d-spacings as large as 17Å within the mesoporous framework.

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This study investigates the transformation of activated carbon (AC) powder, derived from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) through pyrolysis, into a specific type of short cylindrical carbon. This carbon-to-carbon (C-C) transformation was completed by annealing the AC powder in a co-gas atmosphere of He and CO2. This produces low-porous, amorphous, and micro carbon rods (MCR) in micron size. It is suggested that a so-far unknown growth mechanism originates from the oxidation role of CO2, initiating the curving of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sheets. This annealing step was followed by layer-by-layer sheet stacking steps to render the thick rods. This thickness is also created by the simultaneous occurrence of rare carbon nanotubes, supposedly formed initially from curling a small sheet of PAH surrounding carbon nanoparticles to create a tube template for subsequent cylindrical growth. This is the first example of CNT growth through C-C transformation rather than the other vapor deposition routes. As the main product, MCR is amorphous and fairly porous, with an average aspect ratio greater than 10, which possesses potential applications as a mechanical reinforcing or energy-attenuation filler for different composites.