9360924 Yadav This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is in the general area of synthetic organic chemistry. The objective of the research is the demonstration of a new process for the low cost synthesis of fullerenes. Fullerenes are currently made by separation and purification of soot produced in a carbon arc. The inherent high cost of this process has made fullerenes inaccessible to commercial production and application. The Phase I SBIR research will demonstrate advanced concepts for generation, either by arcjet or flame, of carbon vapor and supersonic expansion quenching of carbon atoms derived from low cost precursors such as natural gas, petroleum byproducts and/or biomass to produce fullerene structures of controlled molecular weight. %%% Demonstration of feasibility of producing low cost fullerenes by unique quenching of carbon vapors will create commercialization opportunities for their application diverse areas such as diamond nucleation, optics, electronics, and pharmaceuticals. ***
