AbstractA hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HF-CVD) process was used to synthesise nitrogenated carbon (C:N) nanotubes characterised by feather-like decoration of the tube surface. As a function of deposition temperature the diameter of the produced tubular structures could be adjusted in a controlled way ranging from 1 µm to 50 nm. The influence of catalysts was demonstrated comparing the morphology of catalytically grown tubes with tubes grown onto pure Si wafers. High resolution TEM reveals that the nanotubes are hollow with a wall structure consisting of inner ordered walls and an outer more disordered surface. A possible growth mechanism will be discussed. Furthermore, field emission in vacuum was studied and showed a spectacular correlation to the deposition temperature and therefore the diameter of the C:N tubes.