Stability of self-organization of C₆₀ fullerene molecules in xylene/ethanol and xylene/ethanol/water mixtures

Abstract The specific properties of fullerenes give opportunities for their use in new fields of science and technology, and set new challenges for the scientific research community. In this paper, the physical processes occurring in C 60 /xylene/ethanol and C 60 /xylene/ethanol/water solutions at low fullerene concentrations are studied using refractometry, optical absorption and dynamic light scattering methods. It was found that the degree of intermolecular interaction in solutions, the stability of self-organization and its dynamics depend on the volume content of the components, the concentration and the storage time of the solution. At the same fullerene concentration, the self-organization processes (synthesis of nanoclusters) in C 60 /xylene/ethanol and C 60 /xylene/ethanol/water solutions were 100 h and 75 h, respectively, which was found to be associated with an increase in the overall polarity of the solution. It has been established that by changing the volume fraction of water in the C 60 /xylene/ethanol/water solution, it is possible to control the onset of C 60 nanoclusters formation and their geometric dimensions. When the amount of water in the solution is 15 vol%, the formation of nanoclusters starts immediately, and when it is 5 vol%, this process starts after keeping the solution for 15 h. The results obtained are important for understanding and controlling the self-organization of fullerene molecules in multicomponent solvents, and for synthesizing nanomaterials.