Pure Appl. Chem., 2005, Vol. 77, No. 10, pp. 1675-1684
doi:10.1351/pac200577101675
Carbon-based materials: From fullerene nanostructures to functionalized carbon nanotubes*
Nikos Tagmatarchis and Maurizio Prato
Consorzio INSTM, UdR di Trieste, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, Trieste 34127, Italy
Abstract:
Self-assembly in morphological organization of various fullerene derivatives affords different supramolecular architectures. Nanospheres, tubules, and bundles of nanorods are formed depending on the nature of the organic group in the fullerene unit. The current work highlights an efficient method to fabricate almost perfect and uniformly shaped nanocrystals in a novel connection between spherical fullerene-based materials and fibrous nanotubes. In a parallel research line, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been functionalized using 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides. The organically functionalized CNTs, having improved solubility and potential for applications, are characterized by standard analytical methods as well as microscopy techniques.
Keywords: carbon nanotubes; cycloadditions; Fullerenes; nanostructures; nanotechnology; self-assembly.
*Paper based on a presentation at the 4th International Conference of the Chemical Societies of the South-Eastern European Countries (ICOSECS-4), Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, 18-21 July 2004. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 1655-1752.