C60: the first one-component gel?

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the Girifalco model of C60 can form stable, one-component gels under certain conditions, which is a novel finding in the study of soft matter systems.

Contribution

It is the first to show that C60 alone can form gels, expanding the understanding of gelation beyond multicomponent systems.

Findings

C60 forms stable gels with slow dynamics and long-lived networks.

Gels are stable at room temperature for at least 100 ns.

Crystallization and phase separation occur at higher temperatures without gelation.

Abstract

Until now, gels have been formed of multicomponent soft matter systems, consisting of a solvent and one or more macromolecular or colloidal species. Here we show that, for sufficient quench rates, the Girifalco model of C60 can form gels which we identify by their slow dynamics and long-lived network structure. These gels are stable at room temperature, at least on the simulation timescale up to 100 ns. At moderate temperatures around 1000 K, below the bulk glass transition temperature, C60 exhibits crystallisation and phase separation proceeds without the dynamical arrest associated with gelation, in contrast to many colloidal systems.