Three-Dimensional Cubic and Dice-Like Microstructures of Higher Fullerene C78 with Enhanced Photoelectrochemical and Photoluminescence Properties.

Abstract

The single-crystal micro/nanostructures of fullerene species, namely C60 and C70 , have been previously studied, but studies on the morphology and properties of higher fullerenes have rarely been reported due to the limited amount of samples and their ellipsoidal isomeric structures. Herein, we report the formation of three-dimensional (3D) micro-cubes and micro-dice of a higher fullerene (C78 ) via a facile liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method. The micro-cubes were prepared by regulating the concentration of C78 in trimethylbenzene (TMB) and the volume ratio of TMB and isopropanol. Interestingly, the micro-cubes are transformed into micro-dice with an open-hole on each crystal face by simply shaking the solution. X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic studies revealed a simple cubic unit cell with a lattice constant of 10.6 Å and intercalated TMB molecules in both crystals. The C78 cubic and dice-like microstructures exhibited enhanced photoelectrochemical and photoluminescence properties compared with pristine C78 powder, indicating their potential applications as photodetectors and photoelectric devices.