Fine needlelike crystals of C60 have been formed by a liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation method which uses an interface of the concentrated toluene solution of C60/isopropyl alcohol. The needlelike crystals of C60 with a diameter of submicrons (“C60 nanowhiskers”) were found to be single crystalline and composed of thin slabswith a thickness of about 10 nm. The intermolecular distance of the C60 nanowhiskerswas found to be shortened along the growth axis as compared with the pristine C60crystals, indicating a formation of strong bonding between C60 molecules. TheC60 nanowhiskers are assumed to be polymerized via the “2 + 2” cycloaddition inthe close-packed [110]c direction.

The structure of C 60 whiskers fabricated by using the liquid/liquid interfacial precipitation method is analysed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The C 60 whiskers with submicrometre diameters, named 'C 60 nanowhiskers (C 60 NWs)', contain (002)

Structural, mechanical, and electrical properties were examined for C60 whiskers, high-pressure sintered C60 whiskers, and C60 powder. A high density of dislocations was observed in the C60 whiskers, and the C60 whiskers with diameters of a few hundred nanometers were found to be flexible. Although both the specimens sintered under the same condition showed similar surface x-ray diffraction profiles with a strong accumulation of [110]tr orientation, the sintered C60 whiskers showed a higher micro-Vickers hardness and an electrical resistivity four orders of magnitude lower than that of the sintered C60 powder.