New Ordered Structure of Amorphous Carbon Clusters Induced by Fullerene–Cubane Reactions. Issue 22 (15th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Du, Mingrun; Yao, Mingguang; Dong, JiaJun; Ge, Peng; Dong, Qing; Kováts, Éva; Pekker, Sándor; Chen, Shuanglong; Liu, Ran; Liu, Bo; Cui, Tian; Sundqvist, Bertil; Liu, Bingbing
• Is Part Of: Advanced materials. Volume 30:Issue 22(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2018-04-15
• Subjects: cubanes -- fullerenes -- high pressures -- ordered amorphous carbon clusters -- rotor–stator compounds; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201706916
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0935-9648

Abstract

Abstract: As a new category of solids, crystalline materials constructed with amorphous building blocks expand the structure categorization of solids, for which designing such new structures and understanding the corresponding formation mechanisms are fundamentally important. Unlike previous reports, new amorphous carbon clusters constructed ordered carbon phases are found here by compressing C8 H8 /C60 cocrystals, in which the highly energetic cubane (C8 H8 ) exhibits unusual roles as to the structure formation and transformations under pressure. The significant role of C8 H8 is to stabilize the boundary interactions of the highly compressed or collapsed C60 clusters which preserves their long‐range ordered arrangement up to 45 GPa. With increasing time at high pressure, the gradual random bonding between C8 H8 and carbon clusters, due to "energy release" of highly compressed cubane, leads to the loss of the ability of C8 H8 to stabilize the carbon cluster arrangement. Thus a transition from short‐range disorder to long‐range disorder (amorphization) occurs in the formed material. The spontaneous bonding reconstruction most likely results in a 3D network in the material, which can create ring cracks on diamond anvils. Abstract : Highly energetic cubane is found to stabilize collapsed C60 clusters and favor the formation of a new ordered amorphous carbon cluster structure. When kept at high pressure, cubane gradually releases its energy and bonds with C60 clusters while losing its ability to stabilize the cluster boundaries, leading to an amorphization of the structure, which creates ring cracks on diamond anvils.