Synthesis of Higher Diamondoids and Implications for Their Formation in Petroleum

Abstract

Could chemistry be as easy as A+B=C? Higher diamondoids form from lower ones in experiments mimicking petroleum cracking. The yields are low but can be significantly improved by the addition of isobutane or isobutene. Rather than through superacid-catalyzed carbocation rearrangement reactions—long assumed to be responsible for diamondoid growth—the reactions take place through free-radical mechanisms akin to CVD growth.