Fullerene nanowhisker nanocomposite—current stance and high-tech opportunities

Fullerene has been identified as distinctive nanocarbon. A unique form of fullerene is fullerene nanowhisker i.e. made up of aligned fullerene molecule aggregation to yield tiny crystal nanofiber of <100 nm diameter/length. Like fullerene, fullerene nanowhisker has been used as polymer reinforcement. The polymer/fullerene nanowhisker nanocomposite has been mostly developed using conjugated polymeric matrices and solution mixing technique. With conducting polymer, fullerene nanowhisker may lead to π-π interactions and charge transfer complex formation. Consequently, polymer/fullerene nanowhisker nanocomposite possess fine morphology, compatibility, electron transport, capacitance, and photovoltaic related properties. Applications of polymer/fullerene nanowhisker nanocomposite have been perceived for supercapacitors and photovolataics.