In situ studies of a molten metal anode ablation in a nearly atmospheric pressure DC arc

Musikhin, Stanislav; Nemchinsky, Valerian; Gu, Hengfei; Koel, Bruce E.; Raitses, Yevgeny

doi:10.1088/1361-6463/ae159a

In situ studies of a molten metal anode ablation in a nearly atmospheric pressure DC arc

Journal Article · Thu Oct 30 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ae159a· OSTI ID:2999844

^[1]; ^[1]; Gu, Hengfei ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[1]

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

A DC arc with a meltable metal anode in a near-atmospheric pressure hydrocarbon gas is an emerging method for producing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In these systems, evaporation of the molten metal anode determines the formation of catalyst seed particles needed for SWCNT growth, and therefore, should be monitored, controlled, and optimized. Evaluating the anode ablation rate by weighing the anode before and after a synthesis run is unfeasible due to anode carburization in the hydrocarbon atmosphere. To overcome this, we implemented a high-speed, 2D, 2-color pyrometry for reliable temperature measurements of the molten anode in a DC arc. The obtained temperature fields were used to calculate the anode ablation rates. Results showed the importance of resolving the arc and molten pool dynamics, as well as addressing the issue of reflections. Furthermore, significant changes in ablation rates were revealed upon addition of CH₄, which must be considered when scaling up the production of SWCNTs.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466

OSTI ID:: 2999844

Journal Information:: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics Journal Issue: 44 Vol. 58; ISSN 0022-3727; ISSN 1361-6463

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (31)

Scaling-up metal nanoparticle production by transferred arc discharge Stein, Matthias; Kruis, Frank Einar Advanced Powder Technology, Vol. 29, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apt.2018.08.016	journal	December 2018
Formation of different arc-anode attachment modes and their effect on temperature fluctuation for carbon nanomaterial production in DC arc discharge Liang, Feng; Tanaka, Manabu; Choi, Sooseok Carbon, Vol. 117 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2017.02.084	journal	June 2017
Measurement and modeling of surface temperature dynamics of the NSTX liquid lithium divertor McLean, A. G.; Gan, K. F.; Ahn, J. -W. Journal of Nuclear Materials, Vol. 438 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.01.079	journal	July 2013
Effect of admixture of metal vapor on cathode surface temperature of plasma torch Tashiro, Shinichi; Tanaka, Manabu Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 202, Issue 22-23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2008.06.140	journal	August 2008
Comparison of one-sided and diffusion-limited evaporation models for thin liquid droplets Larsson, Christopher; Kumar, Satish Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 976 https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2023.873	journal	December 2023
Expressions for the Evaporation and Condensation Coefficients in the Hertz-Knudsen Relation Persad, Aaron H.; Ward, Charles A. Chemical Reviews, Vol. 116, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00511	journal	June 2016
Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon Iijima, Sumio Nature, Vol. 354, Issue 6348 https://doi.org/10.1038/354056a0	journal	November 1991
Large-scale production of single-walled carbon nanotubes by the electric-arc technique Journet, C.; Maser, W. K.; Bernier, P. Nature, Vol. 388, Issue 6644, p. 756-758 https://doi.org/10.1038/41972	journal	August 1997
Validated two-dimensional modeling of short carbon arcs: Anode and cathode spots Chen, J.; Khrabry, A.; Kaganovich, I. D. Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 27, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0011044	journal	August 2020
Analytical model of low and high ablation regimes in carbon arcs Khrabry, A.; Kaganovich, I. D.; Khodak, A. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 128, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0016110	journal	September 2020
Carbon arc for nanoparticle production: Ablation rate calculation. Comparison to experiments Nemchinsky, Valerian Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 130, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0069542	journal	October 2021
Heat transfer in a liquid droplet hanging at the tip of an electrode during arc welding Nemchinsky, Valerian A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 30, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/30/7/009	journal	April 1997
Vaporization of a solid surface in an ambient gas Benilov, M. S.; Jacobsson, S.; Kaddani, A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 34, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/34/13/310	journal	June 2001
Atmospheric pressure arc discharge with ablating graphite anode Nemchinsky, V. A.; Raitses, Y. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 48, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/24/245202	journal	May 2015
Investigation of the relationship between arc-anode attachment mode and anode temperature for nickel nanoparticle production by a DC arc discharge Liang, Feng; Tanaka, Manabu; Choi, Sooseok Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 49, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/49/12/125201	journal	February 2016
Unstable behavior of anodic arc discharge for synthesis of nanomaterials Gershman, Sophia; Raitses, Yevgeny Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 49, Issue 34 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/49/34/345201	journal	July 2016
Evolution of anodic erosion components and heat transfer efficiency for W and W₈₀Ag₂₀ in atmospheric-pressure arcs Cui, Yufei; Wu, Yi; Niu, Chunping Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 47 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ababcf	journal	September 2020
Determination of positive anode sheath in anodic carbon arc for synthesis of nanomaterials Chopra, N. S.; Raitses, Y.; Yatom, S. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 55, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ac3bf2	journal	December 2021
Modelling and experimental evidence of the cathode erosion in a plasma spray torch Baeva, M.; Benilov, M. S.; Zhu, T. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 55, Issue 36 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ac791c	journal	June 2022
Simulation of metal nanoparticles growth in methane atmosphere of arc discharge: comparison to experiment Nemchinsky, V.; Musikhin, S.; Raitses, Y. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 58, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ad9ebd	journal	December 2024
Growth of metal nanoparticles in hydrocarbon atmosphere of arc discharge Musikhin, S.; Nemchinsky, V.; Raitses, Y. Nanotechnology, Vol. 35, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ad5aa4	journal	July 2024
Complex structure of the carbon arc discharge for synthesis of nanotubes Vekselman, V.; Feurer, M.; Huang, T. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 26, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6595/aa7158	journal	June 2017
Optical properties of liquid nickel and iron Krishnan, Shankar; Yugawa, Koji J.; Nordine, Paul C. Physical Review B, Vol. 55, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.55.8201	journal	April 1997
Measurement of surface temperature of weld pools by infrared two colour pyrometry Yamazaki, K.; Yamamoto, E.; Suzuki, K. Science and Technology of Welding and Joining, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1179/136217109X12537145658814	journal	January 2010
Vapour Pressure Equations for the Metallic Elements: 298–2500K Alcock, C. B.; Itkin, V. P.; Horrigan, M. K. Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, Vol. 23, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1179/cmq.1984.23.3.309	journal	July 1984
Review of data for the surface tension of iron and its binary alloys Keene, B. J. International Materials Reviews, Vol. 33, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1179/imr.1988.33.1.1	journal	January 1988
Can We Optimize Arc Discharge and Laser Ablation for Well-Controlled Carbon Nanotube Synthesis? Das, Rasel; Shahnavaz, Zohreh; Ali, Md. Eaqub Nanoscale Research Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-016-1730-0	journal	November 2016
Two-color pyrometry system to eliminate optical errors for spatially resolved measurements in flames Reggeti, Shawn A.; Agrawal, Ajay K.; Bittle, Joshua A. Applied Optics, Vol. 58, Issue 32 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.58.008905	journal	January 2019
The Spectral Emissivity of the Anode of a Carbon Arc Schurer, K. Applied Optics, Vol. 7, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.7.000461	journal	March 1968
Simulation of Arc Discharge in an Argon/Methane Mixture, Taking into Account the Evaporation of Anode Material in Problems Related to the Synthesis of Functional Nanostructures Saifutdinov, Almaz; Timerkaev, Boris Nanomaterials, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15010054	journal	December 2024
A Review of Thermal Spectral Imaging Methods for Monitoring High-Temperature Molten Material Streams Grujić, Katarina Sensors, Vol. 23, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031130	journal	January 2023

Similar Records

Atmospheric pressure arc discharge with ablating graphite anode

Journal Article · Mon May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics · OSTI ID:1254756

Anode Sheath Switching in a Carbon Nanotube Arc Plasma

Technical Report · Tue Apr 08 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · OSTI ID:960288

Determination of positive anode sheath in anodic carbon arc for synthesis of nanomaterials

Journal Article · Mon Dec 06 23:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics · OSTI ID:1889109

Related Subjects

Marangoni
electrode ablation
methane
pyrometry
single-walled carbon nanotubes

In situ studies of a molten metal anode ablation in a nearly atmospheric pressure DC arc

Citation Formats

References (31)

Similar Records

Related Subjects