The effect of light irradiation on the growth of C60–C70 nanofibers†
Abstract
C60–C70 nanofibers (FNFs) were prepared using a modified liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP) method in a pyridine solution of C60–C70 soot and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) under illumination with white light in the region of 300–700 nm. The composition of the C60–C70 FNFs was analysed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. It is found that the concentration of C70 in the C60–C70 FNFs is decreased with an increase of irradiation time in the C60–C70–pyridine solution. Regarding the morphology aspect, polarizing optical microscope (POM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used and changing the irradiation time may well be a method to control the length or diameter of those fibers. In an analysis of the mechanism, it was speculated that the charge transfer (CT) complexes between fullerenes C60, C70 and pyridine that could be excited by photons was an explanation for this phenomenon.