Surfactant-Triggered Nanoarchitectonics of Fullerene C60Crystals at a Liquid-Liquid Interface.
Here, we report the structural and morphological modulation of fullerene C60crystals induced by nonionic surfactants diglycerol monolaurate (C12G2) and monomyristate (C14G2). C60crystals synthesized at a liquid-liquid interface comprising isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and a saturated solution of C60in ethylbenzene (EB) exhibited a one-dimensional (1D) morphology with well-defined faceted structure. Average length and diameter of the faceted rods were ca. 4.8 μm and 747 nm, respectively. Powder X-ray diffraction pattern (pXRD) confirmed a hexagonal-close packed (hcp) structure with cell dimensions ca. a = 2.394 nm and c = 1.388 nm. The 1D rod morphology of C60crystals was transformed into "Konpeito candy-like" crystals (average diameter ca. 1.2 μm) when the C60crystals were grown in the presence of C12G2or C14G2surfactant (1%) in EB. The pXRD spectra of "Konpeito-like" crystals could be assigned to the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase with cell dimensions ca. a = 1.4309 nm (for C12G2) and a = 1.4318 nm (for C14G2). However, clusters or aggregates of C60lacking a uniform morphology were observed at lower surfactant concentrations (0.1%), although these crystals exhibited an fcc crystal structure. The self-assembled 1D faceted C60crystals and "Konpeito-like" C60crystals exhibited intense photoluminescence (PL) (∼35 times greater than pC60) and a blue-shifted PL intensity maximum (∼15 nm) compared to those of pC60, demonstrating the potential use of this method for the control of the optoelectronic properties of fullerene nanostructures. The "Konpeito-like" crystals were transformed into high surface area nanoporous carbon with a graphitic microstructure upon heat-treatment at 2000 °C. The heat-treated samples showed enhanced electrochemical supercapacitance performance (specific capacitance is ca. 175 F g-1, which is about 20 times greater than pC60) with long cyclic stability demonstrating the potential of the materials in supercapacitor device fabrication.
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Lok Kumar
LK
Shrestha
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Rekha Goswami
RG
Shrestha
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Jonathan P
JP
Hill
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Tohru
T
Tsuruoka
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.|Herbert Gleiter Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Science & Technology , 200 Xiaolingwei, Nanjing 210094, China.
Qingmin
Q
Ji
Sialon Unit, Environment and Energy Materials Division, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Toshiyuki
T
Nishimura
World Premier International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , 1-1 Namiki, Ibaraki, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan.
Katsuhiko
K
Ariga