| Abstract: | A convenient procedure was developed to prepare an ultra-thin film of supermolecules of a spherical fullerene C60 and water-soluble azocalix6]arene. The C60 molecule is so hydrophobic that it easily forms a three-dimensional aggregate on the water surface. When C60 molecules were spread on an aqueous solution of water-soluble azocalixarene that acts as a host for C60, the hydrophobic C60 was captured in the cavity of the host molecule at the boundary of two phases and formed amphiphilic supermolecules. The supermolecules assembled spontaneously into ultra-thin films over 1-cm wide. The monolayer-like film could be transferred onto a solid support by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique or the inverse Langmuir–Schaefer technique. The morphology and the transferability of the supramolecular assembled films were examined by changing the host molecules, the initial density of C60 on the water surface, the subphase temperature and the metal ions in the subphase. |
