Tremendous advances in nanoscience have been made since the discovery of the fullerenes;however, the formation of these carbon-caged nanomaterials still remains a mystery. Herewe reveal that fullerenes self-assemble through a closed network growth mechanism byincorporation of atomic carbon and C2. The growth processes have been elucidated throughexperiments that probe direct growth of fullerenes upon exposure to carbon vapour, analysedby state-of-the-art Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. our resultsshed new light on the fundamental processes that govern self-assembly of carbon networks,and the processes that we reveal in this study of fullerene growth are likely be involved in theformation of other carbon nanostructures from carbon vapour, such as nanotubes and graphene.Further, the results should be of importance for illuminating astrophysical processes nearcarbon stars or supernovae that result in C60 formation throughout the universe.
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