1D fullerene C₆₀micro/nano fibers synthesized by liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method

C₆₀ is a well-known fullerene prototype; zero-dimensional structure has been generally accepted for C₆₀ fullerene. Through simple and easy-to-control method, 1D fullerene C₆₀micro/nano fibers (FNFs) were successfully prepared by liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation using toluene, m-xylene, pyridine and/or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvents and isopropyl alcohol as precipitation agent. There is a systematic correlation between the type of the solvents and the final structures of the C₆₀ FNFs prepared using LLIP. When the solvents were toluene and m-xylene, solid C₆₀ fullerene nanowhiskers (FNWs) were easily synthesized. On the other hand, the fullerene C₆₀micro/nano tubes (FNTs) were grown in the C₆₀-pyridine solution or C₆₀-NMP solution which was exposed to the visible light. The type of solvents plays a critical role in the formation of the final structure of C₆₀ FNFs. Self assembled by zero dimensional fullerenes,FNFs, who maintain the conjugated p-electron structure of fullerene and features of one dimensional materials, showpromising novel optoelectronic and magnetic properties.