Preferential arc-discharge production of higher fullerenes

A new method for efficiently generating higher fullerenes is reported. By utilizing the arc-discharge of boron-doped graphite (bulk boronized graphite) electrodes, we have found that the yield of higher fullerenes (C76C96) in toluene extracts becomes 35–40 wt% with an optimum boron doping, which is more than twice as large as that obtained in the conventional arc-discharge of 100% graphite rods. A typical absolute yield of the higher fullerenes in soot is 5–6 wt%. The results suggest that some boron-carbon binary clusters play an important role in an early stage of the formation of higher fullerenes.