Anisotropic molecular packing of soluble C60 fullerenes in hexagonal nanocrystals obtained by solvent vapor annealing

Renato Colle (Corresponding Author), Giuseppe Grosso, Alberto Ronzani, Massimo Gazzano, Vincenzo Palermo (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We describe the self-assembly of soluble, chemically modified fullerene [6,6]-phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) into a new crystalline phase where the C 60 moieties are arranged in parallel layers. Minimum C 60 center-to-center distance is 10 within the layers, and up to 15 perpendicular to the layers. Highly anisotropic, mesoscopic hexagonal crystals of this material, with a lateral size of many microns and a thickness below 1 μm, are obtained from chloroform solution by solvent vapor annealing, and characterized by optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The crystalline structure is deduced combining experimental data with molecular modeling and ab initio calculations. The large difference in C 60-C 60 spacing indicates a high anisotropy in electrical and charge transport properties of this new phase.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1332-1337
Number of pages6
JournalCarbon
Volume50
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2012
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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