Characterization of pressure-induced phenomena in carbon nanostructures by optical spectrosopy

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christine Kuntscher
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2006 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 30266112

Within this joint research project we will prepare various carbon nanostructures and study their electronic and vibrational properties by optical spectroscopy at ambient and high pressure. Our investigations will include füllende salts A4C60 (A=K, Rb, Cs), which are Mott-Jahn-Teller insulators at ambient conditions, several rotor-stator phases consisting of cubane C8H8 and C60, C70 and higher fullerenes, as well as samples of unaligned and aligned single-wall carbon nanotubes, and peapods, i.e., carbon nanotubes filled with fullerenes and fullerene derivatives. The main goal of this joint project is the characterization of phenomena induced by the application of external pressure - like structural phase transitions, insulator-to-metal transition, and polymerization reactions - by means of optical spectroscopy in the far-infrared up to the visible frequency range as a function of pressure. The preparation, characterization, and optical measurements on the carbon nanostructures as a function of temperature and pressure will be carried out partly in Budapest and partly in Augsburg, in close collaboration of the two research groups.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Hungary
• Participating Person: Dr. Katalin Kamaras