A simple carbon growth mechanism using atomic carbon addition by ring opening

Linear-carbon-chain molecules have been shown to form by the atomic carbon addition-ring opening reaction (ACAROR) mechanism. In this study, the synthesis of fullerene by ACAROR was attempted in order to determine the universality of this mechanism. The photochemical reaction of fullerene C60 with C3O2 at 1100 °C produced fullerene C70 with negligible side-products. The fact that the only chemically active species in the reaction system were :C and carbonyl carbene, :CCO, and that there were no by-products produced by the cleavage of the overall structure, together with the reported results on the gas phase reaction of fullerene C60 with carbon atoms, leads to the conclusion that the likely formation mechanism is ACAROR. Carbon growth by ACAROR is simple and efficient and hence, becomes overwhelmingly dominant in unfavorable conditions, such as ultra low temperatures and incomplete combustion conditions.