2008/07/28 by Adilah Hussien, Alexander Yakubovich, Alexander V. Yakubovich +7 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Molecular Clusters (physics.atm-clus) #Boron and Carbon Nanomaterials Research #Carbon Nanotubes in Composites #Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Fullerene Chemistry and Applications #physics.atm-clus #physics.chem-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0807.4435
24 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2008/07/28 · openalex publication_date 2008/07/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Phase transition in fullerenes C60 and C240 are investigated by means of constant-temperature molecular dynamics simulations. In the phase transition region, the assembly (and fragmentation) of the C60 cage from (and to) the gaseous state is demonstrated via the dynamical coexistence of two phases. In this critical region, the fullerene system is seen to continuously oscillate between the carbon cage (the solid phase) and the state of carbon dimers and short chains (the gas phase). These oscillations correspond to consecutive disintegration and formation of the fullerene. Furthermore, the temperature-dependent heat capacity of the fullerene features a prominent peak, signifying the finite system analogue of a first-order phase transition. The simulations were conducted for 500 ns using a topologically-constrained pairwise forcefield which was developed for this work. Results of the simulations were supplemented by a statistical mechanics analysis to account for entropy and pressure corrections, corresponding to experimental conditions. These corrections lead to a phase transition temperature of 3800-4200 K for pressure 10-100 kPa, in good agreement with available experimental values.