Pressure-induced phase transitions of C70 nanotubes

• Single crystalline C70 nanotubes having a face-centered-cubic (fcc) structure with diameters on a nanometer scale were synthesized by a facile solution method. In situ high pressure Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction have been employed to study the structural stability and phase transitions of the pristine sample. We show that the molecular orientation-related phase transition from the fcc structure to a rhombohedral structure occurs at about 1.5 GPa, which is 1 GPa higher than in bulk C70. Also, the C70 molecules themselves are more stable in the nanotubes than in bulk crystals, manifested by a partial amorphization at 20 GPa. The crystal structure of C70 nanotubes could partially return to the initial structure after a pressure cycle above 30.8 GPa, and the C70 molecules were intact up to 43 GPa. The bulk modulus of C70 nanotubes is measured to be 50 GPa, which is twice larger than that of bulk C70.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Fullerenes

C70

polymerization

high pressure

Raman scattering

nanotubes

X-ray diffraction

Condensed matter physics

Kondenserade materiens fysik

fysik

Physics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)