Flame synthesis of carbon nano onions using liquefied petroleum gas without catalyst.

Densely agglomerated, high specific surface area carbon nano onions with diameter of 30-40 nm have been synthesized. Liquefied petroleum gas and air mixtures produced carbon nano onions in diffusion flames without catalyst. The optimized oxidant to fuel ratio which produces carbon nano onions has been found to be 0.1 slpm/slpm. The experiment yielded 70% pure carbon nano onions with a rate of 5 g/h. X-ray diffraction, high-resolution electron microscopy and Raman spectrum reveal the densely packed sp(2) hybridized carbon with (002) semi-crystalline hexagonal graphite reflection. The carbon nano onions are thermally stable up to 600 °C.