Morphology Engineering of Fullerene (C60) Microstructures Featuring Surface Cracks with Enhanced Photoluminescence and Microscopic Recognition Properties

Abstract Surface cracks could improve the optical and photoelectronic properties of crystalline materials as they increase specific surface area, but the controlled self‐assembly of fullerene (C 60 ) molecules into micro‐/nanostructures with surface cracks is still challenging. Herein, we report the morphology engineering of novel C 60 microstructures bearing surface cracks for the first time, selecting phenetole and propan‐1‐ol (NPA) as good and poor solvents, respectively. Our systematic investigations reveal that phenetole molecules initially participate in the formation of the ends of the C 60 microstructures, and then NPA molecules are involved in the gradual growth of the sidewalls of the microstructures. Therefore, the surface cracks of C 60 microstructures can be finely regulated by adjusting the addition of NPA and the crystallization time. Interestingly, the cracked C 60 microstructures show superior photoluminescence properties relative to the smooth microstructures due to the increased specific surface area. In addition, C 60 microstructures with wide cracks show preferential recognition of silica particles over C 60 particles owing to electrostatic interactions between the negatively charged C 60 microstructures and the positively charged silica microparticles. These C 60 crystals with surface cracks have potential applications from optoelectronics to biology.