Production of fullerenes by high-temperature pulsed arc discharge

We have developed a high-temperature pulsed arc discharge apparatus, which can operate in a buffer gas heated up to 1000 C, and have succeeded in producing fullerenes for the first time with this method. We have quantitatively analyzed the products, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), to estimate the concentration of fullerenes in soot. The results show that fullerenes are produced not at room temperature but at much higher temperatures such as 1000 C for Ar. The concentration of fullerenes C70 and higher increases as the pulse width of the discharge increases. In the pulsed arc discharge, the negative electrode is consumed by the sputtering of buffer gas ions. (orig.)