Analysis of an arc-formed gas-plasma jet in the arc method of fullerene production

A two-component fan-shaped gas jet forming in the discharge gap of a chamber for fullerene production is analyzed. Under standard fullerene production conditions, the averaged parameters of the jet can be found with a reasonable accuracy using the well-known solution for an incompressible liquid jet. Based on the analysis performed in this work, a simple model of gap-jet transition, and the fullerene formation kinetics considered earlier, the dependences of the fullerene yield on observable experimental parameters (current, helium pressure, gap width, and electrode radii) are constructed. The calculated and experimental results are in good agreement. The analytical data obtained in this work may be helpful in considering the fullerene production kinetics in a real, finite-dimension chamber of a given geometry.