Electrochemical behavior of C60 films and C60/lipid films in ionic liquids

Cyclic voltammograms (CVs) of C60 films and C60 embedded in cast films of triple-tailed cationic surfactant solutions and salt-free zero-charged cationic/anionic (catanionic) surfactant vesicles on glassy carbon electrode in a typical room-temperature ionic liquid (RT-IL), 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]), were examined. CVs show typically electrochemical oxidation and reduction. The salt-free zero-charged catanionic surfactant bilayer vesicles were determined by freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy (FF-TEM) images and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. The cast films of the salt-free zero-charged catanionic surfactant vesicles incorporated C60 molecules were employed to study the electrochemical properties in RT-ILs, which would open new fields for the bulk electronic properties of fullerenes or their derivatives in ionic liquids.