Polyynes were prepared by liquid laser ablation of a graphite target in deionized water at different laser wavelengths (266, 355, 532, and 1064 nm) and energies (20 and 40 inn as well as ablation times (up to 60 min). They were identified by analyzing their ultraviolet absorption spectra and the amount of polyynes so produced turned out to increase at longer wavelength. Also, in order to investigate the effects of various physical parameters on the linear carbon chain length, we compared the branching ratios between C6H2, C8H2, and C10H2. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.