Highly Enhanced Luminescence from Single-Crystalline C₆₀·1<i>m</i>-xylene Nanorods

Abstract

Single-crystalline C60·1m-xylene nanorods with a hexagonal structure were successfully synthesized by evaporating a C60 solution in m-xylene at room temperature. The ratio of the length to the diameter of the nanorods can be controlled in the range of ≈10 to over 1000 for different applications. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the nanorods is about 2 orders of magnitude higher than that for pristine C60 crystals in air. Both UV and Raman results indicate that there is no charge transfer between C60 and m-xylene. It was found that the interaction between C60 and m-xylene molecules is of the van der Waals type. This interaction reduces the icosahedral symmetry of C60 molecule and induces strong PL from the solvate nanorods.