Patent ID: 7550128

Claim:
A method for producing carbon nanostructures, the method including: (a) producing a collection atmosphere within a collection chamber which defines a collection area above a reactant liquid; (b) injecting a feed material into the reactant liquid, the feed material comprising a quantity of a first type of hydrocarbon compound; (c) maintaining the hydrocarbon molecules of the first type of hydrocarbon compound and any reaction products in contact with the reactant liquid for a period of time sufficient to liberate carbon atoms from the hydrocarbon molecules of the first type of hydrocarbon compound or reaction products and place the liberated carbon atoms in an excited state; (d) enabling the liberated carbon atoms in the excited state to traverse a surface of the reactant liquid and flow through the collection area so that the liberated carbon atoms pass over a collection surface within the collection chamber under conditions in which the liberated carbon atoms are enabled to phase change to the ground state; (e) collecting carbon nanostructures on the collection surface as the liberated carbon atoms phase change to the ground state at the collection surface; (f) removing the collection surface from the collection chamber; and (g) removing carbon nanostructures from the collection surface after the collection surface is removed from the collection chamber.