THE FORMATION OF C-60 AND ITS PRECURSORS IN NAPHTHALENE FLAMES

Premixed flat low-Pressure naphthalene flames were studied by means of two techniques. A scavenging/condensation method allowed the analysis of hydrocarbon radicals and neutral species within a mass range up to 300 u. By use of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer large positive an d negative ions were analyzed. Hydrogenated fullerenes detected in the form of their negative ions are direct precursors of the fullerenes. They are formed in the early part of the oxidation zone where polycycl ic aromatic hydrocarbons of lower mass prevail.