High-yield synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes with a pulsed arc-discharge technique

This contribution deals with the synthesis of Single-Walled Carbon Canotubes (SWCNT) with a novel pulsed arc-discharge technique. Pulsed arc-discharge is a very interesting technique because it is similar to the well-known laser evaporation technique for the synthesis of SWCNT and should allow a scale-up to reach a SWCNT volume production. We performed a number of experiments to find optimal conditions for the arc-based SWCNT synthesis. The obtained data have been compared with known results from laser evaporation synthesis of SWCNT. The results indicate that it is possible to get specifically optimized synthesis conditions for the arc-discharge method that are very similar to that of the laser evaporation synthesis. Both methods allow to get similar nanotube qualities (high yield, narrow diameter distribution). We discuss similarities in the formation mechanisms between both methods. (c) 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.