Carbyne formation by synchrotron radiation

Thin carbon films prepared by vacuum evaporation using the arc method were mounted on a standard electron microscope copper grid. They were irradiated by white synchrotron radiation (SR) beam by the use of cylindrical and toroidal mirrors. The irradiated film was examined using a high-resolution electron microscope. α and α+β mixture carbyne crystals were grown in round and the elongated shapes. The round crystals were composed of 5–10 nm crystallites of a carbyne form. The elongated crystal grew into a single crystal 100 nm in size. The c-axes of both grown crystals were oblique to the film. The growth of the carbynes was discussed as being the result of nucleation due to graphite microcrystallites formed by SR beam irradiation.