Probing the thermal stability and the decomposition mechanism of a magnesium-fullerene polymer via X-ray Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulations

International audience; We report the microscopic view of the thermal structural stability of the magnesium intercalated fullerene polymer Mg2C60. With the application of X-ray Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, we study in detail the decomposition pathways of the polymer system upon annealing at temperatures between 300 and 700 degrees C. We show that there are at least two energy scales involved in the decomposition reaction. Intermolecular carbon bonds, which are responsible for the formation of a 2D fullerene polymer, are broken with a relatively modest thermal energy, while the long-range order of the original polymer remains intact. With an increased thermal energy, the crystal…