J. E. Fischer, P. A. Heiney, A. R. McGhie, W. R. Romanow, A. M. Denenstein J. P. McCauley, Jr., and A. B. Smith, III, Science 252, 1288-1290 (1991).
Room temperature powder x-ray diffraction has been carried out at hydrostatic pressures P = 1 atm. and 1.2 GPa on the solid phase of cubic C60 ("fullerite"). Within experimental error, the linear compressibility d(ln a)/dP is the same as the interlayer compressibility d(ln c)/dP of hexagonal graphite, consistent with van der Waals intermolecular bonding. The volume compressibility -d(lnV)/dP is 7.0 +/- 1 X 10**(-12) cm**(2)/dyne, 3 and 40 times greater than the values for graphite and diamond respectively. Pressure-dependent relative intensities of the strongest Bragg reflections suggest that molecular rotations become partially restricted at modest pressure.
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