Fabrication of carbon nanostructures by arc discharge in liquid N2 with automatic electrode delivering tool

Carbon nanostructures (nanohorns, nanoflowers nanocapsules and nanoclusters) could be fabricated by arc discharge in liquid nitrogen with graphite-graphite and iron-graphite electrodes manipulated by an automatic electrode delivering tool. The effects of discharge current on the structure of nanoparticles were investigated under a constant delivering rate. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the fabricated nanostructures consist of single-walled carbon nanohorn and multi-walled carbon nanoflower particles with mean diameter of 100-320 nm when graphite-graphite electrodes were employed while nanocapsules and nanoclusters containing Fe nanoparticles inside carbon nanoshells were fabricated with Fe-graphite electrodes subject to arc discharge in liquid nitrogen.