An interesting phenomenon is observed while carrying out thermal carbonization of porous silicon (PS) with an aim to arrest the natural surface degradation, and it is a burning issue for PS-based device applications. A tubular carbon structure has been observed on the PS surface. Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electron microscope studies, revealed that the tubular structure is nothing but amorphous carbon nanofibres sprouted within the pores in the absence of a metal catalyst, for which a suitable explanation is proposed.
