Crystal field and molecular structure in solid C60

Symmetry-adapted rotator functions for molecules in cylindrical confinement

We present a general description of the formalism of symmetry-adapted rotator functions (SARFs) for molecules in cylindrical confinement. Molecules are considered as clusters of interaction centers (ICs), can have any symmetry, and can display different types of ICs. Cylindrical confinement can be realized by encapsulation in a carbon nanotube (CNT). The potential energy of a molecule surrounded by a CNT can be calculated by evaluating a limited number of terms of an expansion into SARFs, which offers a significant reduction of the computation time. Optimal molecular orientations can be deduced from the resulting potential energy landscape. Examples, including the case of a molecule with cubic symmetry inside a CNT, are discussed.

Orientational ordering in solid C60 fullerene-cubane

We study the structure and phase behavior of fullerene-cubane C(60) x C(8)H(8) by Monte Carlo simulation. Using a simple potential model capturing the icosahedral and cubic symmetries of its molecular constituents, we reproduce the experimentally observed phase transition from a cubic to an orthorhombic crystal lattice and the accompanying rotational freezing of the C(60) molecules. We elaborate a scheme to identify the low-temperature orientations of individual molecules and to detect a pattern of orientational ordering similar to the arrangement of C(60) molecules in solid C(60). Our configuration of orientations supports a doubled periodicity along one of the crystal axes.

Anisotropic packing and one-dimensional fluctuations of C60 molecules in carbon nanotubes

The confinement of a C60 molecule encapsulated in a cylindrical nanotube depends on the tube radius. In small tubes with radius RT approximately < 7 A, a fivefold axis of the molecule coincides with the tube axis. The interaction between C60 molecules in the nanotube is then described by a O2-rotor model on a 1D liquid chain with coupling between orientational and displacive correlations. This coupling leads to chain contraction. The structure factor of the 1D liquid is derived. In tubes with a larger radius the molecular centers of mass are displaced off the tube axis. The distinction of two groups of peapods with on- and off-axis molecules suggests an explanation of the apparent splitting of Ag modes of C60 in nanotubes measured by resonant Raman scattering.