Structures and relative stability of medium- and large-sized silicon clusters. VI. Fullerene cage motifs for low-lying clusters Si(39), Si(40), Si(50), Si(60), Si(70), and Si(80)

We performed a constrained search, combined with density-functional theory optimization, of low-energy geometric structures of silicon clusters Si(39), Si(40), Si(50), Si(60), Si(70), and Si(80). We used fullerene cages as structural motifs to construct initial configurations of endohedral fullerene structures. For Si(39), we examined six endohedral fullerene structures using all six homolog C(34) fullerene isomers as cage motifs. We found that the Si(39) constructed based on the C(34)(C(s):2) cage motif results in a new leading candidate for the lowest-energy structure whose energy is appreciably lower than that of the previously reported leading candidate obtained based on unbiased searches (combined with tight-binding optimization). The C(34)(C(s):2) cage motif also leads to a new candidate for the lowest-energy structure of Si(40) whose energy is notably lower than that of the previously reported leading candidate with outer cage homolog to the C(34)(C(1):1). Low-lying structures of larger silicon clusters Si(50) and Si(60) are also obtained on the basis of preconstructed endohedral fullerene structures. For Si(50), Si(60), and Si(80), the obtained low-energy structures are all notably lower in energy than the lowest-energy silicon structures obtained based on an unbiased search with the empirical Stillinger-Weber potential of silicon. Additionally, we found that the binding energy per atom (or cohesive energy) increases typically >10 meV with addition of every ten Si atoms. This result may be used as an empirical criterion (or the minimal requirement) to identify low-lying silicon clusters with size larger than Si(50).     

Electronic excitations of C(60) aggregates

Excitation properties of the isolated C(60) and (C(60))(N) model clusters (N = 2, 3, 4, 6 and 13) are studied using an a priori parameterized and self-consistent Hamiltonian, the Complete Neglect of Differential Overlap considering the l azimuthal quantum number method. This method properly describes electron excitations of the isolated C(60) after the configuration interaction of singles (CIS) procedure, when those are compared with experimental data in n-hexane solution and in a molecular beam. Geometry models of (C(60))(N) clusters to model the effect of aggregation were obtained from the fullerene fcc crystal. Some peaks in the low energy edge of the absorption spectrum appear corresponding to clustering effects, as well as small increases of bandwidths in the strong bands at the UV region. An analysis of the theoretical absorption spectrum for dimer models has been carried out, taking into account the influence of the distance between fullerene centers. The density of states of CIS for fullerene clusters in the range from 2.0 to 6.5 eV shows the possibility of electron transitions as functions of the size of the clusters.     

Gold cluster formation on a fullerene surface

The growth of Au clusters on a fullerene thin film was investigated by in situ photoelectron spectroscopy in the ultraviolet (UPS) and x-ray (XPS) regime. Due to its highly corrugated surface fullerene films provide a wide range of bonding sites which could be exploited as molecular templates and serve to create a cluster superstructure. To gain insight into the fullerene-Au interaction two types of experiments were performed: (i) the deposition of Au on a fullerene surface, and (ii) the deposition of fullerenes on a Au surface. In both experiments an island growth mode is observed. The deposition of submonolayer amounts of C60 onto a gold film showed that the main interaction of the two species is due to chemisorption of the first C60 monolayer. In addition a constant band bending in the fullerene film is detected, but the UPS valence-band spectra show that there is no charge transfer from the Au to the C60 lowest unoccupied molecular orbital. In the reverse experiment, the cluster growth of Au on the corrugated C60 surface, the analysis of the Au core level does not reveal a specific bonding or nucleation site for Au atoms and clusters. This is in contrast to observations with Si clusters, which prefer to reside in the troughs between the fullerene molecules. The Au clusters grow continually from a size of about 55 atoms for the early stages of growth up to 150 atoms for the deposition of a nominal coverage of 1.5 nm. These data are derived from an analysis of the d-band splitting and the Au 4f core-level shift due to delayed photohole relaxation. The thermal stability of the Au-clusters-covered fullerene film was investigated by annealing in situ up to temperatures of 650 degrees C. For temperatures up to 450 degrees C a continuous growth of the clusters is detected, which is accompanied by a slight drop in Au concentration in the range of XPS for annealing temperatures higher than 350 degrees C. This may be due to a ripening of the clusters. The presence of Au apparently delays fullerene sublimation. The film shows a very good thermal stability and even after annealing at 650 degrees C there is still a fullerene film detectable in the photoelectron spectroscopy spectra.     

Cuboctahedral symmetry in the aggregation of [60]fullerene in polar organic media

[60]fullerene is known to aggregate in water and all experimental and theoretical evidences support that the aggregates contain (C60)13 units. No chemical kinetic study of the effect of solvent polarity on the aggregation of C60 has so far been reported. Here we show by simple kinetic study of the aggregation process and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that when methanol is added to a solution of [60]fullerene in CCl4, spontaneous aggregation starts immediately and the aggregation numbers (n) found to be dependent on the CCl4:CH3OH ratio (v/v) of the medium. One particular ratio of the two liquids gives uniformly sized (C60)13 clusters for about 10 min. The values of n correspond to the minima of the previously reported energy calculations and in the present work, they have been shown to be a natural consequence of stacking of cuboctahedra made up of C60 molecules. A Young diagram-like method has been developed for counting the number of C60 molecules in these cuboctahedral stacks and the numbers obtained from this model and also from the present chemical kinetic and SEM studies agree very well with the "magic numbers" obtained by earlier mass spectrometric studies.     

How close can you get? Studies of ultrafast light-induced processes in ruthenium-[60] fullerene dyads with short pyrazolino and pyrrolidino links

Two pyrazoline- and one pyrrolidine-bridged Ru(II)bipyridine-[60]fullerene dyads have been prepared and studied by ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy. A silver-assisted synthesis route, in which Ag(I) removes the chlorides from the precursor complex Ru(bpy) 2Cl 2 facilitates successful coordination of the [60]fullerene-substituted third ligand. Upon light excitation of the ruthenium moiety, the emission was strongly quenched by the fullerene. The main quenching mechanism is an exceptionally fast direct energy transfer ( k obs > 1 x 10 (12) s (-1) in the pyrazoline-bridged dyads), resulting in population of the lowest excited triplet state of fullerene. No evidence for electron transfer was found, despite the extraordinarily short donor-acceptor distance that could kinetically favor that process. The observations have implications on the ongoing development of devices built from Ru-polypyridyl complexes and nanostructured carbon, such as C 60 or nanotubes.     

C60负离子化学的研究进展

中性的C60是很强的缺电子体,主要和亲核试剂进行化学反应.与之不同的是C60经还原生成负离子后,由缺电子变为富含电子,具有很强的亲核性质,可与亲电试剂进行反应.由于这种电子结构的变化,C60负离子进行的反应从机理至产物均有可能与中性富勒烯不同.从而丰富了富勒烯的反应方式和富勒烯产物的类型.结合我们的工作综述了C60负离子化学的研究进展,对丰富富勒烯化学、扩展富勒烯衍生物的种类及制备方法具有一定意义.     

Capturing the antiaromatic (#6094) C68 carbon cage in the radio-frequency furnace

Although all fullerenes do not satisfy the classical aromaticity condition, as a result of their nonplanar nature, they experience effective stabilization due to extensive cyclic π-electron delocalization and exhibit pronounced "spherical aromaticity". This feature has raised the question of the opposite phenomenon, that is, the existence of antiaromatic carbon cages. Here the first experimental evidence of the existence of antiaromatic fullerenes is reported. The elusive (#6094)C(68) was effectively captured as C(68)Cl(8) by in situ chlorination in the gas phase during radio-frequency synthesis. The chlorinated cage was separated by means of multistage HPLC, and its connectivity unambiguously determined by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Halogen-stripped pristine (#6094)C(68) was monitored by mass spectrometry of the chlorinated C(68)Cl(8) cage. Quantum chemical calculations reveal the highly antiaromatic character of (#6094)C(68), in accordance with all geometric, energetic, and magnetic criteria of aromaticity. Chlorine addition leads to substantial stabilization of the cage owing to aromatization in the resulting C(68)Cl(8), which explains its high abundance in the primary fullerene soot. This work provides new insights into the process of fullerene formation and better understanding of aromaticity phenomena in general.     

Synthesis,structure, and properties of novel open-cage fullerenes having heteroatom(s) on the rim of the orifice

A thermal liquid-phase reaction of fullerene C(60) with 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine afforded aza-open-cage fullerene derivative 5 having an eight-membered-ring orifice on the fullerene cage. Compound 5 was found to undergo oxidative ring-enlargement reactions with singlet oxygen under photo-irradiation to give azadioxo-open-cage fullerene derivatives 9 and 10, which have a 12-membered-ring orifice, in addition to a small amount of azadioxa-open-cage fullerene derivative 11, which has a 10-membered-ring orifice. A thermal reaction of 9 with elemental sulfur in the presence of tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene resulted in further ring-enlargement to give azadioxothia-open-cage fullerene derivative 15, which has a 13-membered-ring orifice. The structures of 5 and 15 were determined by X-ray crystallography, while those of 9, 10, and 11 were confirmed by the agreement of observed (13)C NMR spectra with those obtained by DFT-GIAO calculations. These reactions were rationalized based on the results of molecular orbital calculations. Following electrochemical measurements, compounds 9 and 10, which have two carbonyl groups on the rim of the orifice, were found to be more readily reduced than C(60) itself (the first reduction potential was found to be 0.2 V lower than that of C(60)), while the first reduction potentials of other open-cage fullerene derivatives, 5, 11, and 15, were nearly the same as that of C(60).     

Stability of highly OH-covered C60 fullerenes: role of coadsorbed O impurities and of the charge state of the cage in the formation of carbon-opened structures

We have performed both semiempirical as well as ab initio density functional theory calculations in order to investigate the structural stability of highly hydroxylated C60(OH)32 fullerenes, so-called fullerenols. Interestingly, we have found that low-energy atomic configurations are obtained when the OH groups are covering the C60 in the form of small hydroxyl islands. The previous formation of OH molecular domains on the carbon surface, stabilized by hydrogen bonds between neighboring OH groups, defines the existence of C60(OH)32 fullerene structures with some elongated C-C bonds, closed electronic shells, and large highest occupied-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy gaps, with the latter two being well-known indicators of high chemical stability in these kind of carbon compounds. The calculated optical absorption spectra show that the location of the first single dipole-allowed excitation strongly depends on the precise distribution of the OH groups on the surface, a result that, combined with optical spectroscopy experiments, might provide an efficient way to identify the structure of these kinds of fullerene derivatives. We found that the presence of a few coadsorbed oxygen species on the fullerene surface leads in general to the existence of C60(OH)32O(x) (x = 1-4) compounds in which some of the C-C bonds just below the O impurities are replaced by C-O-C bridge bonds, leading to the formation of stable carbon-opened structures in agreement with the recent experimental work of Xing et al. (J. Phys. Chem. B 2004, 108, 11473). Actually, a more dramatic cage destruction is obtained when considering multiply charged C60(OH)32O(x)(+/-m) (m = 2, 4, 6) species (that can exist in both gas-phase and aqueous environments), where now sizable holes made of 9- and 10-membered rings can exist in the carbon network. We believe that our results are important if the controlled opening of carbon cages is needed and it should be taken into account also in several technological applications where the permanent encapsulation of atomic or molecular species in these types of fullerene derivatives is required.     

Optimal covering of C(60) fullerene by rare gases

Putative global energy minima of clusters formed by the adsorption of rare gases on a C(60) fullerene molecule, C(60)X(N) (X=Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe; N ≤ 70), are found using basin-hopping global optimization in an empirical potential energy surface. The association energies per rare gas atom as a function of N present two noticeable minima for Ne and Ar and just one for Kr and Xe. The minimum with the smallest N is the deepest one and corresponds to an optimal packing monolayer structure; the other one gives a monolayer with maximum packing. For Kr and Xe, optimal and maximum packing structures coincide. By using an isotropic average form of the X-C(60) interaction, we have established the relevance of the C(60) surface corrugation on the cluster structures. Quantum effects are relevant for Ne clusters. The adsorption of these rare gases on C(60) follows patterns that differ significantly from the ones found recently for He by means of experimental and theoretical methods.     

Hydrogen atom mediated Stone-Wales rearrangement of pyracyclene: a model for annealing in fullerene formation

We have investigated the Stone-Wales (SW) rearrangement of pyracyclene (C(14)H(12)) using quantum mechanical molecular modeling. Of particular interest in this study is the effect of an added hydrogen atom on the barriers to SW rearrangement. Hydrogen atoms are found in high abundance during combustion, and their effect upon isomerization of aromatic compounds to more stable species may play an important role in the combustion synthesis of fullerenes. We have calculated the barriers for the SW rearrangement in pyracyclene using density functional theory B3LYP/6-31G(d) and B3LYP/6-311G(d,p). Two mechanisms have been investigated: (i) a mechanism with two identical transition states of C(1) symmetry and a cyclobutyl intermediate and (ii) a mechanism with one transition state containing an sp(3) carbon (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 5572-5580; Nature 1993, 366, 665-667). We find that the barriers for these mechanisms are 120.0 kcal mol(-1) for the cyclobutyl mechanism and 130.1 kcal mol(-1) for the sp(3) mechanism. Adding a hydrogen atom to the internal bridge carbon atoms of pyracyclene reduces the barrier of the cyclobutyl mechanisms to 67.0 kcal mol(-1) and the sp(3) mechanism to 73.1 kcal mol(-1). The bonding of carbon atoms in pyracyclene is similar to those found in isomers of C(60), and the barriers are low enough so that these reactions can become significant during fullerene synthesis in flames. Adding hydrogen atoms to the external bridge atoms on pyracyclene produces a smaller reduction in the SW barrier and adding hydrogen atoms to nonbridge external carbon atoms results in no reduction of the barrier.     

The smallest stable fullerene, M@C28 (m = Ti, Zr, U): stabilization and growth from carbon vapor

The smallest fullerene to form in condensing carbon vapor has received considerable interest since the discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, C(60). Smaller fullerenes remain a largely unexplored class of all-carbon molecules that are predicted to exhibit fascinating properties due to the large degree of curvature and resulting highly pyramidalized carbon atoms in their structures. However, that curvature also renders the smallest fullerenes highly reactive, making them difficult to detect experimentally. Gas-phase attempts to investigate the smallest fullerene by stabilization through cage encapsulation of a metal have been hindered by the complexity of mass spectra that result from vaporization experiments which include non-fullerene clusters, empty cages, and metallofullerenes. We use high-resolution FT-ICR mass spectrometry to overcome that problem and investigate formation of the smallest fullerene by use of a pulsed laser vaporization cluster source. Here, we report that the C(28) fullerene stabilized by encapsulation with an appropriate metal forms directly from carbon vapor as the smallest fullerene under our conditions. Its stabilization is investigated, and we show that M@C(28) is formed by a bottom-up growth mechanism and is a precursor to larger metallofullerenes. In fact, it appears that the encapsulating metal species may catalyze or nucleate endohedral fullerene formation.     

Synthesis of 18-membered open-cage fullerenes through controlled stepwise fullerene skeleton bond cleavage processes and substituent-mediated tuning of the redox potential of open-cage fullerenes

Oxidation of the fullerenediol C(60)(OH)(2)(O)(OAc)(OOtBu)(3) with PhI(OAc)(2) yields the open-cage fullerene derivative C(60)(O)(2)(O)(OAc)(OOtBu)(3)2 with an 11-membered orifice. Compound 2 reacts with aniline to form a new open-cage derivative with a 14-membered orifice, which yields an 18-membered open-cage fullerene derivative upon addition of another molecule of aniline. Two different types of aniline derivatives with either electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents can be added sequentially, affording an unsymmetrical moiety in the open-cage structure. Reduction potentials of the 18-membered open-cage fullerene derivatives can be fine-tuned by changing the substituents on the aniline. The results provide new insights about the mechanism of open-cage reactions of fullerene-mixed peroxide.     

电极表面结构及有机添加物对C60电还原过程的影响

研究了不同电极表面结构及有机添加剂对Ｃ６０电化学还原过程的影响。实验结果表明，富勒烯及其阴离子的电还原活性取决于电极表面结构的影响，即：ｉｐｃ（多晶）〉ｉｐｃ［Ｐｔ（１１１）］〉ｉｐｃ［Ｐｔ（１１０）］，且在Ｐｔ（１１１）及Ｐｔ（１１０）晶面上Ｃ６０＾１－及Ｃ６０＾２－的还原电位均有一定的位移。另外，实验结果还表明当溶液中分别添加苯胺及邻氨基酚时，其对Ｃ６０电还原过程的影响机理将有所不同。     

Synthesis of C59Hx and C58Hx fullerenes stabilized by hydrogen

Prolonged hydrogenation of C(60) molecules by reaction with H(2) at elevated temperature and pressure results in fragmentation and collapse of the fullerene cage structure. However, fragments can be preserved by immediate termination of dangling bonds by hydrogen. Here we demonstrate that not only fullerene fragments but also hydrogenated fragmented fullerenes (e.g., C(58)H(40) and C(59)H(40)) can be synthesized in bulk amount by high-temperature hydrogenation of C(60). We confirm successful synthesis of these species by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and complete speciation of the resultant complex fullerene mixtures by high-resolution field desorption/ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.     

Synthesis,characterization and application of soluble fullerenated polymer materials

This article only deals with the topic of intense interest to us and to a considerable extent of our own experimental results on the synthesis,characterization and application of C60-con-taining functional polymers such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole),polystyrene and polyacrylonitrile-based fullerene polymers.The results demonstrate that [60] fullerene can be directly incorporated into a variety of functional polymers by copolymer-ization or grafting,but also can be used to modify or improve the electronic,optical and physicochemical properties of polymers.Both the stereo-electroniceffect and the steric hindrance of C60 have an important influence on the structure and physicochemical properties of the parent polymer.     

Exohedral functionalization of fullerenes and supramolecular chemistry

We have investigated the exohedral functionalization of [60]fullerene, especially bisaddition; we have revealed the regioselectivity of bisaddition and the properties of obtained bisadducts. The bisaddition without any restriction generally shows low regioselectivity. The electronic and photophysical properties of bisadducts mainly depend on the addition patterns and are almost independent of the nature of addends. We have also attained the regioselective synthesis of bisadducts by controlling the distance and orientation between two reactive species with suitable covalent templates and their application into some functional materials. The synthesis of fullerene‐containing interlocked molecules, such as catenanes and rotaxanes, was accomplished by using a noncovalent interaction, mainly a donor‐acceptor interaction, in addition to the covalent functionalization. The bistable rotaxanes, which can serve as a molecular shuttle or switch, were also successfully prepared. DOI 10.1002/tcr.201000036     

The structures of small clusters of C60 molecules

Using a pairwise additive atom-atom intermolecular potential to describe the interaction between C₆₀ molecules, we calculated the lowest-energy structures of (C60)N clusters up to N = 15 and compared the results with predictions derived using Girifalco’s spherical potential. The cluster binding energies calculated on the basis of the former potential are in all cases significantly higher than those obtained from the latter. Moreover, the atom-atom potential predicts that small fullerene clusters have structures based on icosahedral packing, a finding which, for N = 14 and 15, contrasts with the results obtained using Girifalco’s approximation.     

Nanometer-size cluster formation in alkali-metal-doped fullerene layers

Kinetic Monte Carlo methods have been used to simulate structural transformations in fullerene layers during electrochemical intercalation with alkali-metal ions (A). Special attention is paid to the thermodynamic stability of the A(x)C(60) phases. The calculations point out a phase separation in the doped fullerene layer into alkali-metal-rich and alkali-metal-depleted areas at room temperature. The final state is represented by two phases which coexist as a stable fine mixture of nanoscale particles. The instability of homogeneous layers has potentially critical impact on their electrical properties and can explain the formation of nanostructures (20-50 nm) at the fullerene-electrolyte interface. Rb(3)C(60) clusters are predicted to be larger than K(3)C(60) ones for equal mean alkali-metal concentrations. Experimental data on electrochemical metal deposition on alkali-metal-doped fullerene substrates-in particular, atomic force microscopy measurements-are also consistent with the model proposed.     

Aggregation of [70]fullerene in presence of acetonitrile: a chemical kinetic experiment

[70]fullerene solutions in carbon tetrachloride and o-xylene exhibit a noteworthy spectral variation with time when acetonitrile is added. This has been ascribed to self-aggregation of [70]fullerene caused by the repulsion between polar acetonitrile and hydrophobic [70]fullerene, and the aggregation numbers have been determined from a kinetic scheme and also from a scanning electron microscopic study. The numbers thus obtained follow a cuboctahedral stacking pattern proposed recently and also agree with the magic formula n=55+3m (m=1 to 14) proposed by Branz et al. for [60]fullerene clusters [Phys. Rev. B. 66, 094107 (2002)].