Effect of solvent type on the formation of tubular fullerene nanofibers

摘要

ID Fullerene C_(60) nanofibers (FNFs) were prepared via liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LUP) using toluene, m-xylene, pyridine and/or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvents and isopropyl alcohol as the precipitation agent at 8℃. C_(60)-saturated solutions were exposed to visible light to promote the growth of FNFs. When the solvents were toluene and m-xylene, it was difficult to synthesize hollow C_(60) fullerene nanotubes (FNTs). By contrast, the hollow FNTs were easily grown in the C_(60)-pyridine solution or C_(60)-NMP solution upon exposure to visible light. It is found that there is a critical correlation between the adducts of the solvents with C_(60) molecules and the tubular structure of FNFs.