Reducing HAuCl4 by the C-60 dianion: C-60-directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles into novel fullerene bound gold nanoassemblies

The C-60 dianion is used to reduce tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl4) for the first time; three-dimensional C-60 bound gold (Au-C-60) nanoclusters are obtained from C-60-directed self-assembly of gold nanoparticles due to the strong affinities of Au-C-60 and C-60-C-60. The process was monitored in situ by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. The resulting Au-C-60 nanoclusters were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and FT-IR and Raman spectroscopies.