• Synthesis of a crystalline carbon structure by RF-PECVD device. • Well-ordered aromatic layers form the crystalline carbon structure. • The crystalline carbon structure is introduced as "golden graphite". • Earth’s troposphere leads to changes in the order of aromatic layers. In the present study, a comparative analysis was conducted between coal and a carbon structure synthesized using a radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) system. The carbon film was deposited on an aluminum substrate in a plasma environment containing acetylene gas. The resulting film comprised both well-ordered and low-ordered aromatic layers. The well-ordered layers formed crystalline carbon domains with a hexagonal structure, characterized by an interlayer spacing of 0.243 nm along the (002) plane. This structure is referred to as "golden graphite". To assess the organic characteristics of the carbon film, its molecular features were compared to those of coal, which consists of complex organic and inorganic components. This analysis revealed the presence of carbonyl functional groups commonly found in organic matters such as coal within the carbon film, suggesting it shares similarities with organic structures formed in plasma environments like those in the interstellar medium. This finding provides a valuable context for exploring the formation of organic structures under vacuum and plasma conditions. The study also examined the impact of Earth's atmosphere on the crystalline domains synthesized under vacuum. It was observed that, unlike graphite and coal, atmospheric exposure caused the well-ordered aromatic layers in the carbon film to degrade into low-ordered layers, leading to structural transformation. The results further indicate that golden graphite exhibits greater metastability compared to amorphous carbon. Further information is reported in the manuscript.
Momen-Baghdadabad et al. (Fri,) studied this question.