Ferrocene is widely used for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes due to its ability to act as catalyst and precursor of the synthesis. This paper proposes an optimization of the synthesis of carbon nanotubes from ferrocene, using a substrate with high surface area for their nucleation. Four different surface areas of silica powder were tested: 0.5, 50, 200 and 300 m(2)/g. Raman spectroscopy and microscopy were used to characterize the product obtained and X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis were also performed to evaluate the phases of the material. It was observed that the silica powder with the highest surface area allowed the synthesis of carbon nanotubes to occur at a lower temperature (600 degrees C), whereas substrates with a surface area lower than 50 m(2)/g will only form carbon nanotubes at temperatures higher than 750 degrees C. In order to evaluate the influence of chemical composition of the substrate, three different ceramic powders were analyzed: alumina, silica and zirconia. carbon black and previously synthesized carbon nanotubes were also used as substrate for the synthesis and the results showed that the chemical composition of the substrate does not play a relevant role in the synthesis of carbon nanotubes, only the surface area showed an influence. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.