Transforming Nanoarchitectonics of Solvated Fullerene Single Crystals into Ultrahigh Specific Surface Area C₆₀ Microtubes for Exceptional Raman Sensing Performances

Preparation of crystalline fullerene (C 60 ) nanoarchitectonics with ultrahigh specific surface area is crucial for their practical applications. Here, solvated C 60 microtubes were prepared by an improved liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation method, and a seed-induced growth mechanism was proposed. These solvated C 60 microtubes were found to be converted into highly crystalline C 60 mesoporous microtubes by rapid microwave heating without any graphitization. The C 60 mesoporous microtubes show an ultrahigh surface area of 785.3 m 2 g –1 and a pore volume of 0.86 cm 3 g –1 . Highly crystalline C 60 mesoporous nanobelts and nanowires with an ultrahigh specific surface area are also obtained by this method. As a new type of semiconductor substrate, the C 60 mesoporous microtubes exhibit exceptional Raman sensing performances, and the Raman enhancement factor is as high as 6.57 × 10 7 . Experimental tests and density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the enhanced Raman activity can be attributed to an effective interfacial charge transfer within the C 60 /molecule system.