Carbon nanofibres (CNFs) with sea urchin-like morphology were synthesised from waste chicken fat precursor via catalytic thermal chemical vapour deposition method at 750 degrees C. The CNFs showed amorphous structures under high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction examination. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed that the core of the sea urchin-like CNFs was composed of Fe3C formed within the first 20 min of synthesis time. The growth of amorphous CNFs from agglomerated Fe3C particles was favourable due to the high heating rate applied during the synthesis. Field electron emission examination of the CNFs indicated turn-on and threshold field values of 5.4 and 6.6 mu m(-1) at current density of I and 10 mu A cm(-2), respectively. This study demonstrates that waste chicken fat, a low-cost and readily available resource, can be used as an inexpensive carbon source for the production of CNFs with a potential application in field electron emitters. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.