On the мechanism of formation of free carbon in organic liquids exposed to moderate-intensity optical radiation

It is shown experimentally that upon exposure of various organic liquids to light fluxes of fixed duration there always exists a threshold of the emitted energy density exceeding of which causes intensive carbon-black formation in the liquid. The value of this threschold is usually much smaller than that of optical breakdown in the liquids under study. This effect is explained by cracking of organic compounds around foreign mechanical inclusions which are always present in real liquids. It is shown that the carbon-black formation threshold is reduced upon addition of catalysts and rises upon insertion of cracking process inhibitors into the liquid under study.