ABSTRACT
The odd-numbered carbon clusters C(119), C(129), and C(139) have been observed in the mass spectra of toluene extracts of fullerene soots and of the products of ozone-fullerene reactions. Specifically, ozone-C(60) reactions yield C(119), ozone-C(70) reactions yield C(139), and ozone-(C(60)/C(70)) reactions produce C(119), C(129), and C(139). These unexpected species correspond to dimers of C(60), C(60)/C(70), and C(70), respectively, less one carbon atom, and are stable gas-phase ions with behavior similar to that of fullerenes. The results suggest a new route to functionalization and derivatization of fullerenes through controlled ozone-catalyzed cage-opening reactions.
ABSTRACT
High-temperature, high-pressure extracts of soot produced by the Krätschmer-Huffman technique (KH carbon) were characterized by mass spectrometry and imaging with scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs). The mass spectra of these samples are similar to those of ambient-pressure, high-boiling-point solvent extractions, supporting the idea that solvent temperature and possibly pressure are key parameters in extraction of the giant fuilerenes. The STM images show that the giant fullerenes in these samples are roughly spherical in shape and range in diameter from approximately 1 to 2 nanometers, corresponding to fullerenes containing 60 to 330 atoms. No evidence of bucky tubes was found.
