SYNTHESIS OF FULLERENES BY ABLATION USING PULSED AND CW-ND-YAG LASERS

Macroscopic quantities of fullerenes were synthesized by ablation of a graphite rod heated with a cw-Nd:YAG laser in Ar gas flow. The ablati on was carried out by irradiation of fundamental, second, and third ha rmonic light emitted from a pulsed-Nd:YAG laser. It was necessary to h eat the graphite rod up to a higher temperature than 700 degrees C for producing macroscopic quantities of fullerenes. The amount of ablatio n, the fullerene yield and the relative fullerene yield increased with increasing temperature of graphite. The fullerene yields depended on the pressure of Ar buffer gas as well, in which the ablation plume was formed, and an optimum pressure range was found to be 53-80 kPa. Rela tively high yield of C-70 was obtained by ablation method under these conditions.