Large-area ordered C₆₀ nanoparticle arrays

Nanoscale clusters of C60 fullerene molecules arranged in regular arrays were synthesized on silicon and mica substrates. The arrays were grown by fullerene adsorption onto gold dots formed using a self-assembled colloidal mask, whose openings were precisely controlled by thermal annealing. Self-assembled monolayers of thiol molecules were used to create a well-defined gap between the fullerenes and the gold surface. Using this approach, large arrays of periodically arranged C60 nanoparticles can be formed on a wide range of substrates, with diameters that are tunable from less than 10 nm to several hundred nanometres.