Fullerene Crystals with Bimodal Pore Architectures Consisting of Macropores and Mesopores

A new class of fullerene (C₆₀) crystals with bimodal pore architectures consisting of macropores and mesopores was synthesized by using a liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method involving an interface between isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and a saturated solution of C₆₀ in a mixture of benzene and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). By varying the mixing fraction of CCl₄ in benzene, the porosity and electrochemically active surface area can be flexibly controlled

Fullerene/Cobalt Porphyrin Hybrid Nanosheets with Ambipolar Charge Transporting Characteristics

A novel supramolecular nanoarchitecture, comprising C₆₀/Co porphyrin nanosheets, was prepared by a simple liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation method and fully characterized by means of optical microscopy, AFM, STEM, TEM, and XRD. It is established that the highly crystalline C₆₀/Co porphyrin nanosheets have a simple (1:1) stoichiometry, and when incorporated in bottom-gate, bottom-contact field-effect transistors (FETs), they show ambipolar charge transport characteristics

Vortex-Aligned Fullerene Nanowhiskers as a Scaffold for Orienting Cell Growth

A versatile method for the rapid fabrication of aligned fullerene C₆₀ nanowhiskers (C₆₀NWs) at the air–water interface is presented. This method is based on the vortex motion of a subphase (water), which directs floating C₆₀NWs to align on the water surface according to the direction of rotational flow. Aligned C₆₀NWs could be transferred onto many different flat substrates, and, in this case, aligned C₆₀NWs on glass substrates were employed as a scaffold for cell culture. Bone forming human osteoblast MG63 cells adhered well to the C₆₀NWs, and their growth was found to be oriented with the axis of the aligned C₆₀NWs. Cells grown on aligned C₆₀NWs were more highly oriented with the axis of alignment than when grown on randomly oriented nanowhiskers. A study of cell proliferation on the C₆₀NWs revealed their low toxicity, indicating their potential for use in biomedical applications