Comparing the transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction data for a disordered graphite-like
(sp2-bonded) carbon phase (DGCP) synthesized from fullerite
C60
at high temperatures in the pressure interval from 1.5 to 8 GPa, we show that the
nanocluster structure, long-range correlations for orientation of clusters, lamellar and tweed
morphology, and possible macroscopic anisotropy are intrinsic properties of the DGCP, and
that they can be recognized as a signature of stresses in the parent phase at different
scales from the atomic level (atomic density modulation) to the macroscopic one
(non-hydrostatic pressure environment). These data indicate that the mechanism of the
formation of the DGCP from large-molecule crystalline carbon material, such as
C60, is quite uncommon in the standard classification for the first-order phase transitions since
it displays features typical for both diffusion and martensitic mechanisms, e.g., a
strong topological rearrangement of covalent bonds and a crystallographic-like
relation between crystalline parent and disordered product phases, respectively.