Study of the anodic arc discharge for carbon nanotube synthesis

Carbon nanotubes (CNT's) are unique nanostructures with remarkable electronic and mechanical properties. CNT's are currently considered to be a promising candidate as a next generation material having various applications. To-date, a variety of CNT fabrication methods have been developed, among them is an arc discharge method. Arc discharge is a relatively simple method having high rate of CNT production. In this method single-wall and multi-wall nanotubes are produced from an ionized carbon plasma with joule heating from the discharge used to generate the plasma. The University of Michigan carbon nanotube production facility in the Aerospace Engineering Department utilizes the anodic arc discharge. In this type of discharge, the Carbon plasma is supplied mainly by the anode ablation. In addition a buffer gas (Helium) with a pressure range of 100-1000 torr is introduced into the discharge chamber. The experimental anode ablation rate is about 2-4 m ³/s and generally increases with the background gas pressure in the considered pressure range. Distributions of plasma parameters, namely plasma potential, electron temperature and plasma density in the interelectrode gap of the anodic arc are measured using biased, floating and hot probes. In addition, a model of the anodic arc discharge is developed. The main component of this model is the anode ablation kinetics that takes into account the non-free nature of ablation due to the presence of a high-density discharge plasma. Different characteristic sub-regions near the surface, namely, space-charge sheath, Knudsen layer, presheath and a hydrodynamic layer are considered. The ablation rate is determined by the flow velocity at the edge of the Knudsen layer. Coupling solution of the non-equilibrium, Knudsen layer, with hydrodynamic layer and discharge column provides self-consistent solution for the ablation rate and plasma parameter distribution.