Abstract: Anew technique for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes from coal is introduced in this paper. In this process, coal is selected as the raw material to injected into plasma jet directly, nanotubes are formed on the reactor wall. The metal elements contained in parent coal such as Cu, Al act as the catalyst. This technique is different from the traditional arc discharge process and has the advantages of easy and steady operation and low cost of raw material, so it is an attractive process.

Key words: Carbon nanotubes, Arc plasma, Coal, Synthesis