High-temperature formation of concentric fullerene-like structures within foam-like carbon: Experiment and molecular dynamics simulation

D. W. M. Lau, D. G. McCulloch, N. A. Marks, N. R. Madsen, and A. V. Rode

Phys. Rev. B 75, 233408 – Published 15 June 2007

Abstract

The formation mechanism of carbon onions is investigated. The microstructure of onions formed using pulsed-laser deposition is found to depend critically on the background gas pressure. Molecular dynamics simulations show that an optimal annealing temperature of $4000 K$ is required to form well-ordered onions (concentric fullerene-like spheres), in agreement with experiment. The onions form from the outer layer first, and a model is presented in which the background pressure must be sufficient to allow atoms to cluster, yet low enough to allow annealing into well-ordered onions.

Received 14 February 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.233408

Authors & Affiliations

D. W. M. Lau¹, D. G. McCulloch¹, N. A. Marks², N. R. Madsen³, and A. V. Rode³

¹Applied Physics, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
²School of Physics, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
³Laser Physics Centre, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia

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Vol. 75, Iss. 23 — 15 June 2007

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covering condensed matter and materials physics