A method for synthesis of an ultrahard material called Fullerite (exceeding diamond in hardness) at room temperature and lower pressure has been developed by Russian researchers from the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials in Troitsk, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), MISiS, and MSU.

The research is described in a recently published paper in the journal Carbon.

Fullerite is a polymer composed of fullerenes, or spherical molecules made of carbon atoms. It has become first on the list of ultra hard materials (harder than diamond), with values that range from 150 to 300 GPa.

Creating an ultrahard material

What makes synthesizing fullerite in large quantities so difficult is the high pressure required for the reaction to begin. Formation of the three-dimensional polymer begins at a pressure of 13 GPa, or 130,000 atm (atmospheres). But modern equipment cannot provide such pressure on a large scale.

The scientists in the current study have shown that adding carbon disulfide (CS2) to the initial mixture of reagents can accelerate fullerite synthesis, even if the pressure is only 8GPa. In addition, while previous efforts to synthesize fullerite at a pressure of 13 GPa required heating up to 1100K (more than 820 degrees Celsius), in the new research, it occurs at room temperature.

“The discovery will create a new research area in materials science because it substantially reduces the pressure required for synthesis and allows for manufacturing the material and its derivatives on an industrial scale,” explained Mikhail Popov, lead author of the research paper and head of the laboratory of functional nanomaterials at FSBI TISNCM.

Abstract of Carbon paper