A KINETIC-MODEL OF CARBON CLUSTER GROWTH INCLUDING POLYCYCLIC RINGS AND FULLERENE FORMATION

The discovery of polycyclic cluster formation in condensing carbon, to gether with their spontaneous conversion to fullerenes, offered a poss ibility to explain the mechanism of fullerene formation in carbon vapo r. A kinetic model of these processes, based on previous quantum-chemi cal calculations, is described here. Five basic cluster isomer types a re considered. The main kinetic mechanisms of the model are the coales cence between all types of clusters and conversion of polycyclic rings to fullerenes. The model gives substantial agreement with a row of ex perimental observations. The isomer abundances, shape of mass spectra and high mass yield of fullerenes can be described quiet well.