Various carbon materials, including vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCFs) and carbon trees, were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition in argon atmosphere, using deoiled asphalt as carbon source and ferrocene as catalyst. Pure carbon microbeads (CMBs) were also obtained by this method in the absence of ferrocene. The influence of different growth parameters, such as ferrocene content, reaction temperature, retention time and argon flow rate, was investigated, with respect to morphology and product yield. The products were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.