Preparation of carbon nanoparticles by electrical explosion of graphite rods

Graphite rods of 2 mm in diameter and 50 mm in length have been exploded in water to produce graphite nanoparticles with electrical energy from 5.5 to 44 kJ. The products of the explosion consisted of some fragments in a few micrometer size and many nanoparticles in diameter of several tens of nanometer. It is considered that local pressure and temperature were enough to convert the graphite rod to liquid droplets, which turned to the spherical shape of graphite nanoparticles by rapid cooling. The paramagnetism of the graphite nanopowder prepared in water has been revealed by vibrating sample magnetometer results. The degree of magnetization was proportional to the discharge energy and its maximum reached up to 0.56 emu/g.