Novel fluffy carbon balls obtained from coal which consist of short curly carbon fibres

A novel fluffy carbon ball consisting of short curly carbon fibers prepared by arc disharge of coal-based carbon with a helium and acetylene mixture of buffer gas was discussed. The fabrication of the fluffy carbon walls was realized in a traditional arc discharge reactor in a mixed gas of helium and acetylene. The anode used was a hollow carbon rod made from coal that was filled with iron particles. It was found that the fluffy carbon balls may have uses in adsorption, catalysis and composites because of their unique and uniform symmetric structure.