Layer Disorder in C₆₀-Ether Clathrates

Abstract

We report structural studies on new C₆₀ clathrates formed with ether as a guest molecule. Single crystal x-ray diffraction shows that in C₆₀- ether two different pseudo tetragonal unit cells exist, which correspond to different compositions. The unit cells are based on the same relative displacements of the square-planar layers as found in the C₆₀-n-pentane clathrate [1, 2]. However, the stacking sequence of the layers is different and reciprocal space maps reveal a significant stacking disorder. Model calculations suggest that the disorder comes mainly from the random sequence of the relative displacements.