Phase transitions at high pressure in the fullerene C60 molecular donor-acceptor complex {Hg(dedtc)2}2 · C60

Raman spectra of crystals of the molecular fullerene C₆₀ donor-acceptor complex {Hg(dedtc)₂}₂ · C₆₀ (fullerene with mercury diethyldithiocarbamate) have been measured at a pressure up to 8.4 GPa and at room temperature. A phase transition has been revealed in the pressure range of 1.2–2.0 GPa, which is accompanied by a splitting of the degenerate intramolecular phonon modes H _g (1)-H _g (4) and H _g (7)-H _g (8), as well as by a softening of the H _g (2) mode of the fullerene C₆₀. As the pressure further increases to the maximum value, the intensity of the bands varies smoothly. A decrease in the pressure leads to the reverse transition to the initial state at 1.2 GPa. The splitting of the degenerate modes H _g (1)-H _g (8) and the softening of the H _g (2) modes resemble their behavior in the formation of dimers in fullerite crystals and indicate the possible formation of dimers in two-dimensional fullerene layers under hydrostatic compression of the {Hg(dedtc)₂}₂ · C₆₀ complex.