Vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (CNF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCN) were synthesized from camphor by catalytic thermal chemical vapor deposition on Co and Co/Fe thin films (for CNF) and on silicon substrates using a mixture of camphor and ferrocene (for MWCN). CNF and MWCN were studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, visible Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction in order to get insight into the microstructure and morphology of these materials. Field electron emission study indicates turn-on field of about 1.52, 2.3 and 4.3 V/mu m for MWCN, Co/CNF and Co/Fe/CNF films, respectively; and threshold field of about 2.48, 3.1 and 6 V/mu m, respectively. Our study indicates a better performance for field electron emission compared with some of the earlier published reports which might be due to higher aspect ratio, good graphitization and suitable density. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.