Formation kinetics and photoelectrochemical properties of crystalline C70 one-dimensional microstructures

Abstract

Assembling sub-nanometer fullerene molecules into ordered microstructures is a necessary step towards their applications, but concise morphology control of the ordered structures is very challenging and the formation mechanism is still a big mystery. We herein report the preparation and morphology control of different C₇₀ one-dimensional (1D) microstructures with regioisomers of xylene as good solvents and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as a poor solvent using the interfacial precipitation method. Our systematic investigations show that the solvents participating in the formation process of these C₇₀ 1D microstructures play a critical role in determining the morphology, crystalline structure, formation process and intrinsic properties of these materials. Furthermore, we have also investigated the photoelectrochemical properties of these C₇₀ 1D microstructures, proving their potential applications in related fields.