Elastic properties of superhard amorphous carbon pressure-synthesized from ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ by surface Brillouin scattering

Surface Brillouin scattering technique has been used to study the elastic properties of superhard amorphous carbon, synthesized from ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ under high pressure (13–13.5 GPa) and temperature $(900\mathrm{}\pm 100°\mathrm{C}).\mathrm{}$ This is the first reliable determination of bulk and shear elastic moduli for this type of amorphous carbon material, to the best of our knowledge. The measured moduli are found to be close to those of diamond in agreement with the general trend for elasticity, hardness, and density among the carbon phases, demonstrating as well the efficiency of high-pressure fullerene technique for synthesis of ${\mathrm{sp}}^3$-based amorphous carbon materials.