Plasma which is often called the fourth state of matter after solid, liquids and gases, is a partially ionized gas consisting of molecules, radicals, electrons, ions, and vibrationally and electronically excited species, which can interact with each other, creating a reactive plasma environment [1]. Due to their peculiar features and activation mechanisms, plasmas especially non-equilibrium plasma have been extensively employed in the synthesis or modification of nanomaterials including zero-dimensional quantum dots and nanoparticles, one-dimensional nanowires, two-dimensional sheets, and hybrid structures at relatively low temperatures [1]. With the discovery of fullerene by laser vapor plasma of graphite [2] and carbon nanotubes produced from arc discharge plasma [3], a new research field of “nanocarbon” has been developed and the nanocarbons with various morphologies and nanostructures have been achieved by plasma-involved processes. In this presentation, we simply introduce the development of nanocarbons, such as graphene [4] and carbon nanobrush [5], by plasma technique, mainly review our recent work on the plasma-assisted growth of novel nanocarbons, e.g. vertical graphene, graphenated carbon nanotubes, and graphene-sheet fibers, from the carbonaceous gases or solid carbons or biomass, and discuss their characteristics, growth models and applications in biosensors, photovoltaic cells, and electrochemical devices [6-12].

I thank Prof. Hironori Ogata in Hosei University, Prof. Bunshi Fugetsu and Prof. Ichiro Sakata in The Universiyt of Tokyo, Prof. Mauricio Terrones in The Pennsylvania State University, and Prof. Morinobu Endo in Shishu University for their supports and helpful discussions. 

[1] K. Ostrikov, et al., Adv. Phys., 62 (2013) 113-224.

[2] H. Kroto, et al., Nature, 318 (1985) 162-163.

[3] S. Iijima, Nature, 354 (1991) 56-58.

[4] J. Kim, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 98 (2011) 091502.

[5] R. Yuge, et al., Adv. Mater., 28 (2016) 7174-7177.

[6] Z. Wang, et al., Appl. Surf. Sci., 257 (2011) 9082-9085.

[7] Z. Wang, et al., Analyst, 136 (2011) 4903-4905.

[8] Z. Wang, et al., Appl. Surf. Sci., 259 (2012) 219-224.

[9] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 67 (2014) 326-335.

[10] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 72 (2014) 421-424.

[11] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 94 (2015) 479-484.

[12] Z. Wang, et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 3 (2015) 14545-14549.

Plasma which is often called the fourth state of matter after solid, liquids and gases, is a partially ionized gas consisting of molecules, radicals, electrons, ions, and vibrationally and electronically excited species, which can interact with each other, creating a reactive plasma environment [1]. Due to their peculiar features and activation mechanisms, plasmas especially non-equilibrium plasma have been extensively employed in the synthesis or modification of nanomaterials including zero-dimensional quantum dots and nanoparticles, one-dimensional nanowires, two-dimensional sheets, and hybrid structures at relatively low temperatures [1]. With the discovery of fullerene by laser vapor plasma of graphite [2] and carbon nanotubes produced from arc discharge plasma [3], a new research field of “nanocarbon” has been developed and the nanocarbons with various morphologies and nanostructures have been achieved by plasma-involved processes. In this presentation, we simply introduce the development of nanocarbons, such as graphene [4] and carbon nanobrush [5], by plasma technique, mainly review our recent work on the plasma-assisted growth of novel nanocarbons, e.g. vertical graphene, graphenated carbon nanotubes, and graphene-sheet fibers, from the carbonaceous gases or solid carbons or biomass, and discuss their characteristics, growth models and applications in biosensors, photovoltaic cells, and electrochemical devices [6-12].

I thank Prof. Hironori Ogata in Hosei University, Prof. Bunshi Fugetsu and Prof. Ichiro Sakata in The Universiyt of Tokyo, Prof. Mauricio Terrones in The Pennsylvania State University, and Prof. Morinobu Endo in Shishu University for their supports and helpful discussions. 

[1] K. Ostrikov, et al., Adv. Phys., 62 (2013) 113-224.

[2] H. Kroto, et al., Nature, 318 (1985) 162-163.

[3] S. Iijima, Nature, 354 (1991) 56-58.

[4] J. Kim, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 98 (2011) 091502.

[5] R. Yuge, et al., Adv. Mater., 28 (2016) 7174-7177.

[6] Z. Wang, et al., Appl. Surf. Sci., 257 (2011) 9082-9085.

[7] Z. Wang, et al., Analyst, 136 (2011) 4903-4905.

[8] Z. Wang, et al., Appl. Surf. Sci., 259 (2012) 219-224.

[9] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 67 (2014) 326-335.

[10] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 72 (2014) 421-424.

[11] Z. Wang, et al., Carbon, 94 (2015) 479-484.

[12] Z. Wang, et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 3 (2015) 14545-14549.