Self-Assembled Fullerene Crystals as Excellent Aromatic Vapor Sensors.

Natsumi Furuuchi,Lok Shrestha,Yuji Yamashita,Rekha Shrestha,Tetsuji Hirao,Katsuhiko Ariga

doi:10.3390/s19020267

Abstract

Here we report the aromatic vapor sensing performance of bitter melon shaped nanoporous fullerene C60 crystals that are self-assembled at a liquid-liquid interface between isopropyl alcohol and C60 solution in dodecylbenzene at 25 °C. Average length and center diameter of the crystals were ca. 10 μm and ~2 μm, respectively. Powder X-ray diffraction pattern (pXRD) confirmed a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with cell dimension ca. a = 1.4272 nm, and V = 2.907 nm3, which is similar to that of the pristine fullerene C60. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the presence of a nanoporous structure. Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) results showed that the bitter melon shaped nanoporous C60 performs as an excellent sensing system, particularly for aromatic vapors, due to their easy diffusion through the porous architecture and strong π–π interactions with the sp2-carbon.

Highlights

Fullerene (C60 ) is a truncated icosahedron (Ih ) consisting of purely carbon atoms positioned at the junction of a series of hexagons (20) and pentagons (12) arranged in a cage lattice and defined by alternating single and double bonds
We have explored the effect of surfactants on the self-assembly of fullerene at the liquid-liquid interface and found that surfactants, due to their surface-active properties, alter the morphology of the assembled crystals
In a typical crystals synthesis, isopropyl alcohol (IPA: 5 mL) was slowly added into a C60 solution in dodecylbenzene (1 mL: 1 mg/mL) so that a clear liquid-liquid interface is formed between the two solutions

Summary

Introduction

Fullerene (C60 ) is a truncated icosahedron (Ih ) consisting of purely carbon atoms positioned at the junction of a series of hexagons (20) and pentagons (12) arranged in a cage lattice ~0.8 nm) and defined by alternating single and double bonds. Due to its excellent redox, optical and optoelectronic properties [1,2,3,4,5], it is an extensively studied nanomaterial in the family of carbon allotropes. Due to energetically unstable double bonds within the pentagon rings, fullerenes display electron accepting properties, i.e., fullerenes are highly electron deficient molecules. Reactivity of the fullerene molecules increases due to the curvature induced by the cage structure that increases the energy associated with the double bonds. It has been shown that fullerene C60 molecules polymerize at high temperature and pressure and under exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light [8,9]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion