Crystal Structure and Growth Mechanism of Unusually Long Fullerene (C₆₀) Nanowires

Abstract

Exceptionally long C60 nanowires, with a length to width aspect ratio as large as 3000, are grown from a 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene solution of C60. They have been formed to possess a highly unusual morphology, with each nanowire being composed of two nanobelts joined along the growth direction to give a V-shaped cross section. The crystal structure of these nanowires is found to be orthorhombic, with the unit cell dimensions of a = 10.2 A, b = 20.5 A, and c = 25.6 A. Structural and compositional analyses enable us to explain the observed geometry with an anisotropic molecular packing mechanism that has not been observed previously in C60 crystal studies. The nanowires have been observed to be able to transform into carbon nanofibers following high-temperature treatment, but the original V-shaped morphology can be kept unchanged in the transition. A model for the nanowire morphology based upon the solvent-C60 interactions and preferential growth directions is proposed, and potentially it could be extended for use to grow different types of fullerene nanowires.

Synthesis and Formation Mechanism of Textured MOF-5

“…For example, reasonably good HRTEM images have been obtained from zeolites, C 60 /trimethylbenzene composite, and MOFs. [32][33][34][35] Using a very low dose of electron beam, some HRTEM images of fragments of MOF-5 nanoplates were obtained as shown in Figures 5e and 5f. Although some structural degradation is visible in the HRTEM images, weak crystalline fringes are observed along the profile and long axis of the nanoplates.…”

Programmed self-assembly of largeπ-conjugated molecules into electroactive one-dimensional nanostructures

“…Geng et al reported exceptionally long C 60 nanowires with an orthorhombic lattice, grown from a 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene solution ([C 60 ] = 2 × 10 −3 M). The nanowires were typically 100-500 nm thick and 0.2-1 mm long [43].…”

Hedgehog Buckyball: A High-Symmetry Complete Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS)

“…Since the discovery of the C 60 buckyball, fullerene science has continued to accelerate, investigating both the basic science and its potential applications [2,3]. One investigation involves a major focus on its analogue, the Si 60 cluster [4,5].…”

“…One investigation involves a major focus on its analogue, the Si 60 cluster [4,5]. For Si 60 clusters, the cages should not be very stable due to the use of three (3sp 3 ) orbitals to bond to other Si atoms. Thus, the cages need some other atoms for the fourth bond whereas the C 60 fullerene uses the second period sp 2 orbitals along with a π bond to bond exclusively with other C atoms.…”

“…The following peaks in the 1 H-NMR spectrum ( Figure S3) were assigned: 0.698 ppm (1) 29 Si NMR spectroscopy permits quantitative measurement of the degree of condensation by the relative abundance of the T 3 silicon nuclei, Si-(O-Si) 3 [20][21][22][23]: −65.681 ppm is characteristic of the T 3 species, and -56.577 ppm can be assigned to T 2 structures, Si-(O-Si) 2 (OH), from incompletely condensed species in the product mixture; no T 0 or T 1 structures were present in the 29 Si-NMR spectrum which is consistent with higher molecular weight and cyclic MSSO. Figure 2 shows the UV-MALDI-TOF MS in the m/z = 0-11,000 Da range corresponding to MSSO molecules.…”