Color-tunable photoluminescent fullerene nanoparticles.

Highly water-soluble and color-tunable photoluminescent fullerene nanoparticles are synthesized by using tetraethylene glycol (TEG) and lithium hydroxide as a catalyst. The maximum PL emission changes depend on the contents of the remaining π-conjugation in oxidized C(60), which is partially covalently conjugated with TEG. The PL behavior is attributed to an electronic transition change due to the distortion of symmetrical C(60).