Fullerenols Revisited: Highly Monodispersed Photoluminescent Nanomaterials as Ideal Building Blocks for Supramolecular Chemistry

Abstract

Fullerenols have been known for decades; however, the photoluminescent (PL) properties and applications in supramolecular chemistry of these molecules have not been well addressed. Herein, a strategy has been developed to purify the as-prepared fullerenols, and the photoluminescence and capabilities of these molecules to form supramolecular self-assemblies were systematically studied. It was found that fullerenols show wavelength-dependent emission with an absolute fluorescent quantum yield of approximately 3.5 %. The PL characteristics are reminiscent of carbon dots, especially those obtained by using the top-down method. The studied fullerenols can be used to detect Cu ions with a limit of detection down to 3.50 μm. In addition, the amphiphilicity of the fullerenols can be readily tuned by ionic complexation with cationic surfactants, such as 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazoliumbromide (C mimB) and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB). On increasing the concentration of the surfactant, the transition of aggregates was induced from highly ordered vesicles to honeycomb-structured crystals and finally to giant micelles. After the formation of supramolecular self-assemblies, enhancement of photoluminescence was observed, which can be ascribed to the suppression of intramolecular vibrations and motion combined with the loosely packed self-assembly array. This study provides a facile way to generate PL nanoarchitectures, which may find applications in fluorescent sensing, drug delivery, and optoelectronics.

Magnetic and Biocompatible Fullerenol/Fe(III) Microcapsules with Antioxidant Activities

“…From the high-resolution spectra of C 1s (Figure f), a broad peak was observed that can be divided into three peaks corresponding to signals from the carbons in C 60 , in C–OH and in C–O–, respectively. Compared to pure fullerenol, the C 1s spectrum of the microcapsules locates at lower binding energies, which is presumably caused by mutual interaction between corresponding functional groups and Fe 3+ .…”

“…We started with an aqueous solution of 2.0 mg mL –1 fullerenol, to which HCl, PS microspheres, and a rusty nail were introduced successively. In our previous work, the formula of the fullerenol has been calculated to be C 60 (OH) 18.2 (ONa) 3.86 ·6.6 H 2 O, which gives a molecular weight of 1297.24. Thus, a concentration of fullerenol ( c f ) of 2.0 mg mL –1 corresponds to 1.54 mmol L –1 fullerenol and 28.06 mmol L –1 hydroxyl group.…”

“…This situation becomes even worse when one tries to amplify the synthesis of fullerenol. Highly pure products were obtained only by repeated size-exclusion column chromatography as reported by Wilson et al in 2004, or by dialysis as demonstrated recently by us . These advances helped to ascertain the average formulas of the so-obtained fullerenols.…”

“…Fullerenols were prepared following procedures given in our recent report . Rusty nails were obtained under natural corrosion.…”

“…These advances helped to ascertain the average formulas of the so-obtained fullerenols. More importantly, new properties have been discovered, including the magnetic properties and photoluminescent characteristics …”