Catalytic 3D polymerization of C60

The present study addresses the problems of catalytic synthesis of C60-based 3D polymers in the presence of carbon disulfide CS2. It is shown that CS2 lowers the pressure of fullerite 3D polymerization at room temperature. In particular, the pressure at which the 3D ultrahard fullerite C60 phase is formed decreases from 18 GPa to 7 GPa. The catalyst plays no significant role at room temperature and low pressures up to 6 GPa. When the C60 + CS2 is heated to 1200 K, the pressure of the 3D C60 polymerization is further reduced to 2–4 GPa. Based on the TEM data, we propose a 3D polymer structure based on C60 obtained by the catalytic synthesis.