Elastic properties of superhard amorphous carbon pressure-synthesized fromC-60 by surface Brillouin scattering - art. no. 121403

Surface Brillouin scattering technique has been used to study the elastic p roperties of superhard amorphous carbon, synthesized from C-60 under high p ressure (13-13.5 GPa) and temperature (900 +/- 100 degrees C). This is the first reliable determination of bulk and shear elastic moduli for this type of amorphous carbon material, to the best of our knowledge. The measured m oduli are found to be close to those of diamond in agreement with the gener al trend for elasticity, hardness, and density among the carbon phases, dem onstrating as well the efficiency of high-pressure fullerene technique for synthesis of sp(3)-based amorphous carbon materials.