Effect of solvent type on the formation of tubular fullerene nanofibers

Abstract 1D Fullerene C 60 nanofibers (FNFs) were prepared via liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) using toluene, m-xylene, pyridine and/or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvents and isopropyl alcohol as the precipitation agent at 8 °C. 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.