Morphological study of thin-film systems of pure fullerene (C60) and some other amphiphilic compounds on the electron microscopic scale

Abstract

Morphological study of thin-film systems of pure fullerene (C[sub 60]) and some other amphiphilic compounds adsorbed on glass plates was conducted on the electron microscopic scale. Each component in benzene was placed on the aqueous subphase of distilled water (pH 5.8) according to the Langmuir technique to form its thin film; the thin film was transferred onto one side of a glass-plate surface by the subphase-lowering method. Each film-adsorbed site was replicated with a plasma-induced polymerized naphthalene film. The glass plates thus surface-treated were gradually dipped into 5% fluoric acid solution in order to obtain their respective single replica stage films for transmission electron microscopic observation. For example, the replica image of the C[sub 60] thin-film was able to show numerous necklace-like patterns forming a two-dimensional network on the electron microscopic scale. This network structure provides the possibility of applicational utilities such as a superconductive thin-film. 22 refs., 9 figs.