Experimental evidence for the early nucleation of single-walled carbon nanotubes

► C2 life time increases with furnace temperature. ► The spatial and temporal maps of electron density show sharp fluctuations with increasing furnace temperature. ► The spatial and temporal maps of the electron temperature in the plasma show hotspots suggesting exothermic reactions which increases with furnace temperature. ► OES combined with Raman spectroscopy, suggest that nucleation of SWCNT takes place within a microsecond after laser ablates the target.