Simulation of the Growth of Carbon Nanotubes in Flowing Plasmas Using Particle-in-Cell Method

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other nanomaterials can be effectively generated in plasma environments, for example, in arc discharges with carbon electrodes. Plasmas impact the production of nanoparticles because they contain free radicals and ions that can contribute to the growth of nanoparticles, augmenting the conventional growth from neutral atoms and molecules. We are extending the commercial Particle-in-Cell code VSim by adding new algorithms for surface chemical reactions and inlet/outlet boundary conditions, so that it can simulate the growth of CNTs in a plasma environment. Such a tool can help to develop understanding of the physical processes underlying nanotube growth. It can also be used to optimize the nanomaterial production.