Effect of laser annealing on the structure of fullerene C 60

Abstract

The effect of laser annealing with various powers on the structure of fullerene C 60 was followed by Raman microspectroscopy. In the initial ball structure, the CC tangential stretching frequency is shown to reflect a partial double-bond character for its CC bonds. By laser annealing, the ball structure is broken, leading to amorphous carbon. This transformation is in contrast with the ordering generally observed by laser annealing on simple aggregates such as silicon or germanium.