US Patent 7842271 - Mass production of carbon nanostructures

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7842271.html

This patent is from a Russian inventor and claims a more energy efficient mass production method for carbon nanotubes and other fullerene nanostructures. Claim 1 reads:

A method of preparing a composition comprising a nanostructured carbon, the method comprising:

contacting a carbonaceous starting material with an activated acid catalyst to form an activated intermediate; and

providing thermal energy to the activated intermediate to thereby forming a graphene;

wherein the activated acid catalyst comprises an acidic solution previously subjected to an electromagnetic field, electromagnetic radiation, laser irradiation, or plasma activation.