Quantification of Buckminsterfullerene (C60) in non-graphitizing carbon and a microstructural comparison of graphitizing and non-graphitizing carbon via Small Angle Neutron Scattering
2022
Sharma, Swati | Zorzi, Sandro | Cristiglio, Viviana | Schweins, Ralf | Mondelli, Claudia
In this article we present the first experimental evidence confirming a global presence of Buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) in non-graphitizing polymeric carbon, along with its volume fraction calculations. Partially stacked carbon fragments featuring weak or strong curvatures constitute the structural units in non-graphitizing carbons. It has been proposed that a certain fraction of completely closed spherical fullerenes, such as C₆₀, is also present in these materials. Strongly curved structures are not expected to exist in graphitizing carbons. We report on a Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) investigation conducted at the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France, that enables us to (i) quantify C₆₀ in a non-graphitizing carbon, (ii) investigate the evolution patterns of graphitizing and non-graphitizing carbons, and (iii) perform a detailed SANS analysis of pure crystalline C₆₀ in dry powder form. We also revisit the formation patterns of slightly larger structures (3–5 nm) such as graphitic crystallites and voids in both classes of polymeric carbon. These results provide a strong evidence in support of the fullerene-like microstructural models of non-graphitizing carbon, adding that the curved structural units are not just “fullerene-like”, but also spherical fullerenes, C₆₀ in particular.
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