Cluster structure of fullerene-containing soot and C60 fullerene powder

Electron microscopy and electron diffraction methods were employed in a study of the structure of a fullerene-containing soot produced in gas discharge and of a C-60 fullerene powder. The data obtained were analyzed with the use of fractal geometry concepts. It has been shown that, in the structure of the objects studied, several spatial scales can be identified. The effective radius of the structure's "elementary particles" calculated using scaling relationships is equal to 6 Angstrom for the soot and 4.5 Angstrom for the C-60 fullerene. The "elementary particles" combine into associates. The number of particles in an associate in both the soot and the C-60 powder is not large (about 10). The associates form fractal nanoclusters 30-80 nm in size having a fractal dimension of 1.60 +/- 0.05 in the soot and of 1.8 +/- 0.05 in the C-60 fullerene. The structure of the soot nanocluster is unstable and can be significantly modified by externally applied factors (e.g., as a result of treatment with toluene). The nanoclusters combine into aggregates having the form of branching cross-linked filaments. Eventually, these aggregates combine to form macroparticles of soot. (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".