Curved Surfaces in Disordered Carbons by High Energy X-ray Scattering

Disordered carbons prepared by slow pyrolysis of saccharose and anthracene and subsequent heat treatment at 1000ºC and 2300ºC have been studied by high energy X-ray diffraction. Computer simulations of the powder diffraction patterns of fullerenes, nanotubes and carbon models have been compared with the experimental data after conversion to real space via the Fourier transform. The presence of fullerene- and nanotube-like fragments with non-six membered rings in the investigated samples has been deduced by detailed analysis of the radial distribution functions of the saccharose- and anthracene-based carbons and related to resistance to graphitization of the saccharose-based carbons and to stability of the growing crystallites in the case of the anthracene-based carbons. The obtained results are compared to high resolution electron microscopy and Raman studies.