Synthesis of Amorphous Carbon Film in Ethanol Inverse Diffusion Flames

Recently, carbon nanomaterials have attracted significant attention due to their remarkable physical and chemical properties. The preparation methods and applications of the carbon nanomaterials have developed rapidly. In this study, the flame synthesis of amorphous carbon film grown on copper foil in an ethanol inverse diffusion flame was presented. The effects of ethanol flow rate, the copper foil location in flame and growth time were investigated in detail. The growth status of the synthetic amorphous carbon film was analyzed by an optical microscope and HRTEM (high resolution transmission electron microscope). Raman spectroscopy and XRD (X-ray diffraction) were used to characterize the structure of the carbon film. The roughness of the carbon film was determined by AFM (atomic force microscopy). As the ethanol flow rate increased and the copper foil moved upwards in the flame, the area of the synthetic amorphous carbon film increased. The roughness of carbon films with the growth time of 30 s and 2 min were smaller. In addition, the synthetic amorphous carbon film exhibited a certain degree of flexibility and visual transparency. Through the study, a reference could be provided to find the optimum condition for the flame synthesis of satisfactory amorphous carbon film. For these experiments, when the ethanol flow rate reached 2 mL/min, the copper foil was located on the top of the flame and the growth time was 2 min, an amorphous carbon film with higher quality could be obtained.