engleski

Carbon nanostructure production from ethanol by cold plasma

The conversion of liquids into some kind of materials has always been highly interesting. Since carbon is an abundant material, it is of special interest for this type of application. Carbon can be organised in various forms of nanostructures like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, carbon black, nanodiamonds, fuller-ene, and many more. Some of these carbon allotropes have special properties that make them interesting, and perhaps graphene and carbon nanotubes are the most motivating. Even though there are several synthesis paths of these nanostructures, there is always a need to improve and find alternative options. One of the options that have been recently explored is synthesis from liquids with plasma assistance. Liquids of interest are alcohols since they are carbon-based and are affordable and accessible, especially ethanol. This synthesis pathway sup-presses precursors in liquids, including impuri-ties, making processes easier, faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly. According to some recently published studies, nanocarbon synthesis in ethanol is mostly produced by in-liquid plasmas called sparks, arcs 1, 2, etc. We decided to use the simpler model setup with an atmospheric pressure plasma jet, where plasma forms in the gas phase over a liquid surface and interacts with liquid. So far, the experiments have been done in ethanol, and obtained results have indicated a fast pathway to convert etha-nol into amorphous nanosheets. With increased treatment time, graphene forms on the edges of obtained carbon nanosheets. With this process, the micro and nanostructures were produced in a matter of minutes by the degradation and conversion of ethanol. Additionally, we found that when a graphite sheet is submerged in ethanol, the size of produced structures is re-duced, and structured carbon is synthesised. The next step is to tailor conversion pathways with the optimisation of plasma parameters.

carbon, nanostructures, graphene, ethanol, atmospheric pressure plasma, cold plasma, plasma-liquid interaction, amorphous carbon sheet

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