Controllable crystalline structure of fullerene nanorods and transport properties of an individual nanorod

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 328 - 332
• Main Authors: JI, Heng-Xing, HU, Jin-Song, WAN, Li-Jun, TANG, Qing-Xin, HU, Wen-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 01.01.2008
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport in multilayers, nanoscale materials and structures; Exact sciences and technology; Fullerenes and related materials; diamonds, graphite; Low-dimensional structures (superlattices, quantum well structures, multilayers): structure, and nonelectronic properties; Materials science; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanotubes; Physics; Quantum wires; Specific materials; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Chemical sensors; FCC lattices; Electrical conductivity; Transport properties; Focused ion beam technology; Heat treatments; Self-assembly; Monocrystals; Temperature effects; Fullerenes; Self heating; HCP lattices; Activation energy; Nanorod; Nanostructured materials; Nanomaterial synthesis; Charge carrier injection; Crystal structure
• ISSN: 0959-9428; 1364-5501
• DOI: 10.1039/b712696d

Single-crystalline pristine C60 nanorods with fcc crystal structure were synthesized by solvent-induced self-assembly followed by heat treatment. The length and length-to-width ratio of C60 nanorods were tunable by controlling the concentration of C60 molecules in the stock solution. Devices consisting of individual fcc nanorods were fabricated by a focused ion beam (FIB) technique. For comparison, nanorods of hcp structure were synthesized and devices consisting of individual hcp nanorods were fabricated also. The transport properties of an individual C60 nanorod suggested that the fcc nanorods exhibited higher conductivity than the hcp nanorods, i.e., the transport properties of C60 nanorods exhibited a strong phase dependence. The temperature dependence of the devices indicated the thermally activated carrier injection of the fcc nanorods. The activation energies of the nanorods are much smaller than those of the bulk crystals of C60, indicating easier carrier injection of the fcc nanorods and their potential applications for the fabrication of efficient nanodevices. The good operational stability of individual C60 nanorod based devices under sustained high dc voltage suggested their application as stable units in micro electronics or chemical sensor systems.