Preparation and characterization of fullerene LB films

Summary form only given. LB films of pure C/sub 60/ and C/sub 70/ fullerenes were prepared by controlling interfacial tensions using an aqueous solution of phenol. It was found that fullerene molecules form relatively homogeneous Langmuir film on an aqueous solution of phenol rather than on pure water. This homogeneity apparently results from the phenol molecules effectively promoting the spread of the benzene droplet containing fullerenes on the water surface. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, the C/sub 60/ and C/sub 70/ fullerene Langmuir films were found to have polydomain crystalline structures in amorphous-like disordered regions, i.e., hexagonal and distorted hexagonal forms. The average diameter of these domains was several tens of nanometers. When annealed and doped at about 423K, metallic behavior and phase transition at about 250K were confirmed, through resistivity measurement, in the potassium-doped C/sub 60/ LB films. The application of this preparation method to LB film formation of relatively polar metallofullerenes will also be reported.