Fulleride of aluminum nanoclusters

Abstract

Properties of nanocomposites composed of fullerene C60 chemically bonded to Al nanocrystals are reported. The nanocomposites of Al–C60 create a class of new material of fulleride of aluminum nanoclusters. New nanostructured and modified by C60 aluminum-based material has been sintered from fulleride of aluminum nanoclusters. Key features of this material are creating covalent bonds Al–C60 and preserving C60 during sintering. Addition of several wt % of C60 essentially improves (by a factor of 3 to 10, up to 7 GPa) the hardness of initial aluminum.