SOME COMPARATIVE THERMODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FULLERITE AND VARIOUS COVALENT ELEMENTS

Measurements of the specific heat and elastic wave velocities for a C- 60 fullerene sample treated at high pressure and temperature are used to estimate the Debye temperature and the function Delta C=C-p- C-v, a nd also to calculate the thermal expansion work in the ideal approxima tion. Similar calculations were made for graphite, diamond, silicon, g ermanium, and various refractory metals. The results were used to draw qualitative conclusions on the structural stability of a new material obtained from fullerene C60 which possesses extremely high hardness. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.