Controlled Preparation And Photoelectric Properties Of Micro/nano Structures Based On Endohedral Metallofullerenes

Compared with empty fullerenes,endohedral metallofullerenes?EMFs?,a new class of hybrid molecules formed by encapsulation of metallic species inside fullerene cages,exhibit unique properties because of the presence of metals and their hybridization effect via electron transfer.Accordingly,EMFs show prospect in photoelectric and photoluminescence applications.To this end,ordered nano/microstructures are normally necessary to realize the corresponding applications.However,investigation of nanostructures of EMFs and exploration of their applications are quite limited up to now.Therefore,it is of great significance to explore ordered micro/nanostructures of EMFs.Herein,we prepared different kinds of micro/nanostructures of EMFs,including Lu₂@C₈₂,Sc₃N@C₇₈8 and Y@C₈₂.Finally,the photoelectric properties of the prepared structures were studied.The results are summarized as follows:EMFs were synthesized by a direct current arc discharge method.We isolated Lu₂@C₈₂,Sc₃N@C₇₈8 and Y@C₈₂2 from the mixing fullerenes by HPLC.We have successfully prepared one-dimensional?1D?micro/nanostructures of EMFs,including Lu₂@C₈₂,Sc₃N@C₇₈8 and Y@C₈₂,by a liquid-liquid interface precipitation method for the first time.Rodlike structures of Lu₂@C₈₂2 and Y@C₈₂2 were obtained by different kinds of mixing solvents including toluene-isopropyl alcohol?T-IPA?,m-xylene-isopropyl alcohol?M-IPA?,and carbon disulfide-isopropyl alcohol?CS₂-IPA?.Furthermore,we prepared 1D nanostructures of Sc₃N@C₇₈8 by the mixing solvents of both T-IPA and p-xylene-isopropanol alcohol?P-IPA?.In addition,the experiments demonstrate the morphologies and sizes of the structures can be controlled by changing the concentration of EMFs,the type of good solvents and the volume ratio of good to poor solvents.At the same time,we analyzed the growth process and crystal systems of the structures prepared by LLIP with XRD and TEM technologies.Compared with solution of Lu₂@C₈₂,Lu₂@C₈₂2 nanorods prepared by CS₂-IPA mixing solution exhibits broader and stronger absorption in the visible region,and the Sc₃N@C₇₈8 nanorods formed in the T-IPA solution system shows similar results.Herein,we measured the photoluminescence?PL?properties of Lu₂@C₈₂2 power and the Lu₂@C₈₂2 crystals.The PL intensity of the self-assembled Lu₂@C₈₂nanorods exhibits an obvious enhancement compared to that of Lu₂@C₈₂2 powder.In addition,the photoluminescence properties and photoelectrochemical properties of EMFs showed a remarkable enhancement after assembled into micro/nanostructures in our experiments.