Synthesis of carbon fibres by electrical discharges in heptane

International audienceIt is possible to assemble hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) nanoparticles into fibres by a two-step process based on discharges in heptane. In a first step, HAC nanoparticles are synthesized by successive discharges between two platinum pin-electrodes separated by a gap-distance set to 100 mu m. Next, the gap-distance is increased to 2 mm. New discharges create non-conductive HAC fibres by assembly of nanoparticles dispersed in the liquid