Formation and Conductive Properties of Miniaturized Fullerite Sensors

Abstract

AbstractFullerite nanotubules of 100 nm to 2 μm radius, up to 200 nm wal thickness and 10 μm length were produced inside etched swift heavy ion tracks in a polymer, by letting fullerence precipitate from a concentrated C60 solution within the tracks. After contacting the tubules on both sides with silver paste, their resistivity was measured as a function of temperature. All of the 13 prepared samples show a complex behaviour that can be described by tw Arrhenius curves, the low temperature branch with activation energy Eact = (1.77 ± 0.2) eV stemming from pure C60, and the high temperature branch being tentatively ascribed to C60Agx with x ≍ 12.4 and Eact = (0.68 ± 0.2) eV, as the letter compound has found to be produced at ambient temperature by C60 / Ag thermal intermixture. Such samples with tw branches of negative temperature coefficients of resistance might be useful to construct advanced thermoresistors.