Fullerene formation in an arc discharge Original Research Article

The unique properties of fullerenes have stimulated intensive research on fullerene-based materials for a wide range of applications, the hydrogen power industry being among them. However the high cost of fullerenes prevents their use for hydrogen storage. The only industrial method of fullerene production is arc discharge with graphite electrodes, but its optimum efficiency is far too low. Transformation of a chaotic carbon vapor into fullerenes is not well understood. It is known that carbon in the arc discharge region can only exist in the form of atoms or atomic ions. On the other hand, the location of the region, where the fullerenes arise, is also determined. No experimental research on the intermediate products, as applied to the arc discharge conditions, has been undertaken. The paper contains an attempt to develop a theory of fullerene formation, covering all the aspects of the problem, starting with arc discharge calculations, to the immediate fullerene molecule assembly.