Annealing Temperature Dependence of the Size of C60 Clusters in C60-Doped Silicon Oxide Films

C₆₀-doped silicon oxide thin films were prepared by spin-coating a viscous solution formed upon soaking at 40°C an acidic toluene/ethanol solution of C₆₀, phenyltriethoxysilane, and tetraethoxysilane with a C₆₀–to–Si molar ratio of 2.5 × 10^–3. The films were submitted to annealing at 300–500°C in Ar to investigate variation in the size of C₆₀ clusters embedded in the films by photoluminescence spectroscopy. The film before annealing was found to contain the clusters consisting of ca. 60 C₆₀ molecules, suggesting that C₆₀ is present well-dispersed in the film. The molecules in the film aggregated to increase the size with increasing annealing temperature, indicating that the molecules diffuse easily in the film upon heating and therefore the size of the clusters is controllable with the annealing temperature.