Effect of trace elements on carbon microparticle formation

Laser vapourisation cluster beam experiments have been carried out to probe the way in which the presence of elements such as O, H, Fe etc. affect the mechanism of carbon microparticle formation. Studies with oxygen and hydrogen are designed to probe the intermediates involved in combustion processes and preliminary experiments with iron are aimed at a study of the characteristic clustering behaviour that occurs in steels. In this work a new carbon oxide C₆₀O, oxobuckminsterfullerene, has been identified.