Surface cracks could improve the optical and photoelectronic properties of crystalline materials as they increase specific surface area, but the controlled self-assembly of fullerene (C60 ) molecules into micro-/nanostructures with surface cracks is still challenging. Herein, we report the morphology engineering of novel C60 microstructures bearing surface cracks for the first time, selecting phenetole and propan-1-ol (NPA) as good and poor solvents, respectively. Our systematic investigations reveal that phenetole molecules initially participate in the formation of the ends of the C60 microstructures, and then NPA molecules are involved in the gradual growth of the sidewalls of the microstructures. Therefore, the surface cracks of C60 microstructures can be finely regulated by adjusting the addition of NPA and the crystallization time. Interestingly, the cracked C60 microstructures show superior photoluminescence properties relative to the smooth microstructures due to the increased specific surface area. In addition, C60 microstructures with wide cracks show preferential recognition of silica particles over C60 particles owing to electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged C60 microstructures and the positively charged silica microparticles. These C60 crystals with surface cracks have potential applications from optoelectronics to biology.
Keywords: cracks; fullerene microcrystals; liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation; microscopic recognition; photoluminescence.
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