Three‐Dimensional Cubic and Dice‐Like Microstructures of Higher Fullerene C₇₈with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical and Photoluminescence Properties

Abstract

The single-crystalm icro/nanostructures of fullerene species, namely C 60 and C 70 ,h ave been previously studied, but studies on the morphology and properties of higher fullerenes have rarely been reported due to the limited amount of samples andt heir ellipsoidal isomeric structures. Herein, we report the formation of three-dimensional (3D) micro-cubes and micro-diceo fahigherf ullerene (C 78)v ia a facile liquid-liquidi nterfacial precipitation (LLIP) method. The micro-cubeswereprepared by regulating the concentration of C 78 in trimethylbenzene(TMB) and the volume ratio of TMB and isopropanol. Interestingly,t he micro-cubesa re transformed into micro-dice with an open-hole on each crystal face by simply shaking the solution. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrareds pectroscopic studies revealed a simple cubic unit cell with al attice constant of 10.6 and intercalated TMB molecules in both crystals.T he C 78 cubic and dice-like microstructures exhibited enhanced photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence properties compared with pristine C 78 powder,i ndicating their potential applications as photodetectors and photoelectric devices.

Recent advances in supramolecular fullerene chemistry

“…Such an enhancement of photoluminescence in highly crystalline C 70 and higher fullerene C 78 relative to their powder states was also found by others, and was attributed to the increased crystallinity of fullerenes together with the decreased intermolecular interactions. [435][436][437] The formation of fullerene-based 3D materials not only provides an ordered arrangement of carbon cages, but also produces a regular network of pores that are typically larger in the case of less symmetric C 70 . By changing the crystal preparation method, the porous structure can also be tuned.…”

Supramolecular Engineering of Crystalline Fullerene Micro‐/Nano‐Architectures

“…In addition to the C 60based FMNAs that have been reviewed to some extent by previous studies, [14][15][16] exciting new FMNAs based on higher fullerenes (e.g., C 70 and C 78 ) and endohedral metallofullerenes (e.g., Sc 3 N@C 78 , Lu 3 N@C 80 , and Y@C 82 ) have recently been realized. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Further exploration into the structure-dependent functions of FMNAs has stimulated various emerging applications in fields such as energy storage/conversion, photoelectronics, sensors, and biology. Herein, as illustrated in Figure 1, we first discuss the general fabrication strategies used to organize these monomeric fullerene molecules (including endohedral metallofullerenes) into well-ordered micro-/nano-architectures.…”

Fullerene superlattices containing charge transfer complexes for an improved nonlinear optical performance

“…2 To date, multiple strategies have been developed to obtain C 60 -based supramolecular structures with diverse morphologies, among them a liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method is frequently selected because it is easily manipulated and its structural regulation is highly capable. By varying the concentration of C 60 , 3 the diffusion time, 4 and the good-to-poor solvent ratio, 5 one-dimensional (1D) nanorods and nanotubes, 6,7 two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets, 8–11 three-dimensional (3D) microcubes 12–15 and polyhedral microcrystals 16 have been successfully synthesized. The improved orderliness of these micro/nanostructures compared to the as-synthesized C 60 powder could optimize the properties of C 60 , such as enhancing its photoluminescence.…”

“…17,18 The interesting morphologies and optimized properties impart these C 60 -based supramolecular structures with high potential for application in electrochemical 7,11 and optoelectronic devices. 12…”