Effects of Gravity and Magnetic Field in Production of C60 by a DC Arc Discharge

We have examined the dependence of the production of C60 on the direction of the arc current with respect to the direction of gravity in a DC arc discharge in a helium gas atmosphere. The production rate decreases when the direction of the current is opposite to that of heat convection of the helium gas. When a DC magnetic field is applied, the hot gas plasma in the arc region is jetted out by the J×B force. The production rates of carbon soot and C60 increase and depend little on the direction of gravity.