Production of fullerenes by high-temperature pulsed arc discharge

We have developed a high-temperature pulsed are discharge apparatus, which can operate in a buffer gas heated up to 1000 degrees C, and have succeeded in producing fullerenes for the first time with this method. We have quant itatively analyzed the products, using high-performance liquid chromatograp hy (HPLC), to estimate the concentration of fullerenes in soot. The results show that fullerenes are produced not at room temperature but at much high er temperatures such as 1000 degrees C for Ar. The concentration of fullere nes C-70 and higher increases as the pulse width of the discharge increases . In the pulsed are discharge, the negative electrode is consumed by the sp uttering of buffer gas ions.