Production of fullerenes and single-wall carbon nanotubes by high-temperature pulsed arc discharge

Fullerenes and single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been produced for the first time by the high-temperature pulsed arc-discharge technique, whic h has developed in this laboratory. Fullerenes are identified quantitativel y by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and scanning electron m icroscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations rev eal a significant amount of production of bundles of SWNTs in soot. The pul se arc production of fullerenes and SWNTs favors the high-temperature (grea ter than or equal to 1000 degrees C), long pulses (greater than or equal to 1 ms) and a heavy rare gas such as Ar or Kr as a buffer gas. We have found that fullerenes and SWNTs have complementary relationships in their early stage of production. The details of the pulsed arc discharge have been obta ined by observing the transition from the pulsed arc discharge to the stead y arc discharge while increasing the pulse width. (C) 2000 American Institu te of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)71113-5].