GROWTH RATE MEASUREMENT OF C60 FULLERENE NANOWHISKERS

Abstract

The growth rate of C 60 fullerene nanowhiskers ( C 60NWs) prepared by the liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation method is measured and the growth mechanism is discussed. The growth of C 60NWs is investigated from the data obtained at the growth temperatures of 5, 10, 15 and 20°C. It is found that the convection of the solution scarcely influences the growth rate, suggesting that a surface reaction of C 60 molecules dominates the growth process. The activation energy of C 60NWs' growth is estimated at about 52.8 kJ/mol from their initial stage of growth. This activation energy is much greater than that of C 60 diffusion in solutions found in the literature. This result suggests that the desolvation process of C 60 on the whisker surface governs the growth of C 60NWs.