Nanoporous fullerene nanowhiskers

The synthesis of C60 nanowhiskers or nanotubes using the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method was presented. The formation of porous C60 nanowhiskers were obtained by mixing of different ratios of C60 saturated benzene and isopropyl alcohol (IPA). The solutions were cooled to 5°C and the IPA was added slowly to the C60- saturated benzene solution. The solution, after the addition, was ultrasonicated for 1 minute at 5°C in an ultrasonic water bath. The resulting mixture was kept in an incubator at 5°C for 24 hours to form nanowhiskers. The electron diffraction and x-ray diffraction pattern revealed the fcc crystalline nature of the prepared porous nanowhiskers. Results show that porous nanowhiskers exhibits higher specific surface area than pristine C60 powder.