Synthesis, characterization and properties of C60 nanocrystals, nanowires and hierarchical nanostructures

In this article, we propose a simple and reproductive approach to prepare low dimension C60 nanostructures, which bases on the crystallization of C60 from volatile solution on the surface of substrates of different materials. The C60 nanowires that we obtained have a uniform shape with a length from 2 to 10 microm and a diameter from about 100 to 250 nm. In some cases, we could prepare the Y- or T-shaped nanostructures of C60, which may be due to the crystal growth simultaneous in different directions. Besides the nanowires, we have also obtained C60 nanoparticles with a diameter about 100 nm to 200 nm. The formation mechanism and electronic properties of the low-dimension nanostructures have also been investigated.