A kinetic model of carbon cluster growth including polycyclic rings and fullerene formation

The discovery of polycyclic cluster formation in condensing carbon, together with their spontaneous conversion to fullerenes, offered a possibility to explain the mechanism of fullerene formation in carbon vapor. A kinetic model of these processes, based on previous quantum-chemical calculations, is described here. Five basic cluster isomer types are considered. The main kinetic mechanisms of the model are the coalescence between all types of clusters and conversion of polycyclic rings to fullerenes. The model gives substantial agreement with a row of experimental observations. The isomer abundances, shape of mass spectra and high mass yield of fullereness can be described quiet well.