Structural and elastic anisotropy of carbon phases prepared from fullerite C60

We show that application of nonhydrostatic pressure to cluster-based molecular material, like fullerite C-60, provides an opportunity to create elastically and structurally anisotropic carbon materials, including two-dimensional polymerized rhombohedral C-60 and superhard graphite-type (sp(2)) disordered atomic-based phases. There is direct correlation between textured polymerized and/or textured covalent structure and anisotropic elasticity. Whereas this anisotropy is induced by the uniaxial pressure component, in the case of disordered atomic-based phases, it may be governed by the uniform pressure magnitude. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.