Self-Assembled Fullerene-Based Materials for Energy-Related Applications
Fullerene-based materials have become ideal candidates for energy-related applications due to their unique electronic properties, chemical modifiability, and thermal stability. This review focuses on self-assembly strategies of fullerenes and their derivatives both in solution and bulk states, emphasizing the correlation between microstructure and macroscopic properties. In solution, fullerene molecules and their derivatives self-assemble into nanostructures under different dimensions such as nanowires, nanosheets, and vesicles driven by nonchemical bonding. These structures exhibit intriguing optoelectronic properties, including anisotropic photoconductivity and superconductivity. Self-assemblies of fullerene derivatives in the bulk, as well as their coassembly with other species, enable the fabrication of functional materials with well-defined microstructures, such as donor–acceptor interfaces and complex superlattice phases. These materials demonstrate enhanced performance in various applications such as energy storage, conversion, and transmission, including lithium-ion batteries, organic solar cells, electrochemical capacitors, and superconducting materials. The article provides a summary and outlook on their potential in advancing energy technologies.
Authors
- Yongyong Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1710-1505)
- Jinyuan Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6312-3855)
- Biwei Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6192-5910)
- Xiaoyun Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3545-2077)
- Xinyu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1510-3625)
- Haoyong Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7486-2020)
- Huanyu Lei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7302-9870)
- Stephen Z. D. Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1448-0546)
- Yuchu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9780-8724)
- Xiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0517-7863)
- Weiyi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9760-7321)
- Qing‐Yun Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3254-0920)
- Yuzhi Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7689-3771)
- Hao Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0741-9096)
- Guoqiang Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4127-3350)
- Xinghan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0098-1617)
- Zhan Ma
- Xiaoyi Kuang
Institutions
- Donghua University (CN)
- Division of Materials Science and Engineering (AU)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Energy Materials
- Published
- 2025-06-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.5c00951
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Fullerene Chemistry and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.68
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- South China University of Technology