Fullerene Nanoarchitectonics: Rich Possibilities in Organized Structures from Zero-Dimensional Unit

Abstract

What comes next after nanotechnology is "nanoarchitectonics" (materials construction from nanoscale). In this review paper, in order to illustrate the high potential of nanoarchitectonics, we exemplified how a wide variety of structures can be formed from fullerene molecules (e.g. C₆₀ and C₇₀), which are zero-dimensional molecular units composed of a single element (carbon). It has been found that hierarchical structures of one-dimensional, two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and hierarchical (based on various dimensional motifs) can be nanoarchitected from zero-dimensional molecules using techniques such as lab-bench procedure, liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation (LLIP). In some cases, the assembly process and their sequences can be controlled by time and stimuli, inducing structural shifts of fullerene assemblies to mimic the unique biological processes of differentiation and metamorphosis that occur in cells and individual organisms. Conversely, it is also possible to use fullerene assemblies to control living cells, such as the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells, on surfaces bearing fullerene assembly nanoarchitectures.