The recently discovered materials known generically asfullerenes have unique chemical and physical properties that havegenerated great interest in the scientific and technical researchcommunities. Several applications have been proposed for thesematerials, such as superconductors, nucleation of diamond films,nonlinear optical materials, and catalysts. The development ofcommercial applications for these materials requires that they bereadily available at a reasonable price. The currently used arcprocess cannot satisfy these requirements. A new process for themanufacture of fullerenes is being explored. This continuousprocess has the potential to substantially increase the productionrates and lower the production costs of fullerenes. Phase I isassessing the commercial viability of this process byexperimentally determining production rates and operating costsover a range of operating variables.Anticipated Results/Potential Commercial Applications as described by the awardee:Successful development and commercialization ofthis process will facilitate the development of commercialapplications for fullerenes. Because fullerenes have potentialuses in many areas, the success of this project will have majorbenefits for a large number of developing technologies.
