Solid state topological transformation of C60 into graphite and diamond

Abstract Recent experiments have shown that a C 60 crystalline powder can partially transform into diamond under non-hydrostatic pressure, or into graphite under shock compression. These transformations are relatively fast and occur far from the liquid-carbon thermodynamic stability domain: this suggests that the transformation process does not involve long range atomic diffusion. We here propose a short range atomic displacement process and define an irreversible continuous transformation relating fullerite (FCC structure) to diamond or graphite. We conclude that a controlled low temperature, non-hydrostatic compression of highly (1,1,1) oriented C 60 crystals should lead to a quantitive route for synthesizing diamond.