Integral and local elastic properties of C60 single crystals

Elastic properties of the f.c.c. phase of solid C60 have been determined experimentally on the base of sound velocity measurements in single crystalline specimens of different crystallographic orientations. Integral elastic properties were measured by the echo-pulse method at 5 MHz and local elastic parameters were measured by the acoustic microscopy technique. The local values obtained have confirmed with a good accuracy the results from measurements of integral elastic properties in single crystals of solid C60. From these experimental data the magnitudes of elastic stiffness constants for the f.c.c. phase of solid C60 were calculated. The results obtained are in good agreement with the theoretical estimations of elastic moduli made in terms of existing models of intermolecular interaction in C60. (orig.)