Inventors:
Reginald Little - Tallahassee FL, US
International Classification:
C01B 31/02
Abstract:
An apparatus for the crystalline, mass and selective syntheses of diamonds and carbon nanotubes (CNT) includes a chamber having at least one source of carbon and possibly a source of metal on a substrate surface (atoms, clusters and/or nanoparticles); at least one resistance heating element; at least one exciting and heating laser at least one IR source; at least one magnetic field generator; and at least one pressure device. In operation, carbon and metal atoms are supplied to the heated reaction chamber for contacting with substrate supported catalyst, a heating laser beam and an IR source, and then for contacting with an intense magnetic field sufficient amount of interaction between the excited carbon and metal atoms IR, laser, thermal energy and the magnetic field so as to excite, create, catalyze and stabilize electronic spin transitions and high electronic spin states of the excited carbon and metal atoms (for the production of high spin triplett, quartet and pentet carbon atoms) under chemical vapor deposition conditions, leading to the activated and more efficient rehybridization of these high spin carbon atoms for the massive chemical condensation of diamonds and/or CNTs. The specific photons of the laser may stimulate the nucleation of specific helical and diametric CNTs. An even greater massive chemical condensation is driven by selective, periodic and rapidly heating the metal catalyst via the IR-heating source for more efficient localization of energy for electronic, chemical and transport dynamics of high spin carbon atoms through the catalyst for lower ambient temperature selective condensation of CNT. The external magnetic field also provides conditions for creating, stabilizing, reacting and confining these high spin carbon and metal atoms. The continual supply, rehybridization and population inversion of carbon atoms overtime provides conditions conducive the massive and selective diamond and/or CNT productions. By operating the device to physically catalyze and stabilize electronic fixation of high spin states of carbon atoms by intense static arid/or dynamic magnetic fields, the chemical contamination is eliminated or may be modulated for controlled doping during the formation of diamonds and/or CNT, respectively. By operating the device to electronically fix carbon using the catalyst and magnetic fields, the electronic rehybridization rate is enhanced over the rates of currently used older arts of chemical catalytic fixation due to the reinforcing external magnetic field under CVD conditions relative to the intrinsic field of the catalyst and spin interactions with carbon atoms in the absence of the external magnetic field. The external field stabilizes high spin states of carbon and metal atoms, and enhances the intrinsic spin effects of the transition metal for chemical catalytic fixation. Moreover, an intense static external magnetic field stabilizes high spin carbon intermediates leading to stimulated diamond formation. On the other hand an intense dynamic external magnetic field intensified intrinsic spin density waves of the catalyst for enhanced CNT formation. This monumental discovery of magnetically activated rehybridization and stabilization of excited carbon contributes a watershed in the industrial massive production of diamonds and CNT when this magnetic discovery is coupled to new heating methods using IR photons. Furthermore, the stronger magnetic stabilization in this art relative to the weaker inherent fields in the catalyst of the older chemical catalytic art allow lower temperature generation of diamond and CNT. This new art provides diamond-CNT composite materials for novel diamond-CNT interfaces, new doping during the synthesis of diamond. Also in this new art, the magnetic densification of high spin carbon atoms allows more low pressure synthesis of diamond relative to older art. By switching the magnetic field on and off, this new art allows the selection of diamond or carbon nanotube growth.
