Li+ intercalates into a pure face‐centered‐cubic (fcc) C60 structure instead of being adsorbed on a single C60 molecule. This hinders the excess storage of Li ions in Li‐ion batteries, thereby limiting their applications. However, the associated electrochemical processes and mechanisms have not been investigated owing to the low electrochemical reactivity and poor crystallinity of the C60 powder. Herein, a facile method for synthesizing pure fcc C60 nanoparticles with uniform morphology and superior electrochemical performance in both half‐ and full‐cells is demonstrated using a 1 m LiPF6 solution in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate (1:1 vol%) with 10% fluoroethylene carbonate. The specific capacity of the C60 nanoparticles during the second discharge reaches ≈750 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1, approximately twice that of graphite. Moreover, by applying in situ X‐ray diffraction, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, and first‐principles calculations, an abnormally high Li storage in a crystalline C60 structure is proposed based on the vacant sites among the C60 molecules, Li clusters at different sites, and structural changes during the discharge/charge process. The fcc of C60 transforms tetragonal via orthorhombic LixC60 and back to the cubic phase during discharge. The presented results will facilitate the development of novel fullerene‐based anode materials for Li‐ion batteries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.