Unstable Isomer of C90 Fullerene Isolated as Chloro Derivatives,C90(1)Cl10/12

High‐temperature chlorination of C₉₀‐containing fullerene fraction resulted in the isolation and X‐ray structural characterization of C₉₀(1)Cl_10/12, the first derivatives of a relatively unstable isomer D_5h‐C₉₀(1) with a nanotubular shape. In the crystal structure, three isomers of both C₉₀(1)Cl₁₀ and C₉₀(1)Cl₁₂ with similar chlorination patterns co‐crystallize in the same crystallographic site. Thus, in contrast to the previous reports, D_5h‐C₉₀(1) is present, though with a low abundance, in the fullerene soot produced by arc‐discharge method with undoped graphite rods.     

Chlorination of Two Isomers of C86 Fullerene: Molecular Structures of C86(16)Cl16, C86(17)Cl18, C86(17)Cl20, and C86(17)Cl22

Chlorination of a mixture of C₈₆ isomers no. 16 (C_s) and no. 17 (C₂) with VCl₄ or a (TiCl₄+Br₂) mixture afforded crystalline chlorides with 16 to 22 Cl atoms per fullerene cage. Single crystal X‐ray diffraction with the use of synchrotron radiation enabled us to determine the chlorination patterns of C₈₆(16)Cl₁₆, C₈₆(17)Cl₁₈, C₈₆(17)Cl₂₀, and C₈₆(17)Cl₂₂. At these degrees of chlorination, addition patterns of C₈₆(16) and C₈₆(17) chlorides have some features in common, owing to the close similarity in the cage structures of both isomers. The average energy of C?Cl bonds decreases with increasing number of attached Cl atoms.     

The First Experimentally Confirmed Isolated Pentagon Rule (IPR) Isomers of Higher Fullerene C98 Captured as Chlorides,C98(248)Cl22 and C98(116)Cl20

High‐temperature chlorination of pristine C₉₈ fullerene isomers separated by HPLC from the fullerene soot afforded crystals of C₉₈Cl₂₂ and C₉₈Cl₂₀. An X‐ray structure elucidation revealed, respectively, the presence of carbon cages of the most stable C₂‐C₉₈(248) and rather unstable C₁‐C₉₈(116), which represent the first isolated pentagon rule (IPR) isomers of fullerene C₉₈ confirmed experimentally. The chlorination patterns of the chlorides are discussed in terms of the formation of isolated C=C bonds and aromatic substructures on the fullerene cages.     

First Isomers of Pristine C104 Fullerene Structurally Confirmed as Chlorides,C104(258)Cl16 and C104(812)Cl24

Isolation and characterization of very large fullerenes is hampered by a drastic decrease of their content in fullerene soot with increasing fullerene size and a simultaneous increase of the number of possible IPR (Isolated Pentagon Rule) isomers. In the present work, fractions containing mixtures of C₁₀₂ and C₁₀₄ were isolated in very small quantities (several dozens of micrograms) by multi‐step recycling HPLC from an arc‐discharge fullerene soot. Two such fractions were used for chlorination with a VCl₄/SbCl₅ mixture in glass ampoules at 350–360 °C. The resulting chlorides were investigated by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. By this means, two IPR isomers of C₁₀₄, numbers 258 and 812 (of 823 topologically possible isomers), have been confirmed for the first time as chlorides, C₁‐C₁₀₄(258)Cl₁₆ and D₂‐C₁₀₄(812)Cl₂₄, respectively, while an admixture of C₂‐C₁₀₄(811)Cl₂₄ was assumed to be present in the latter chloride. DFT calculations showed that pristine C₁₀₄(812) belongs to rather stable C₁₀₄ cages, whereas C₁₀₄(258) is much less stable.     

Structures of Chlorinated Fullerenes,IPR C96Cl20 and Non‐classical C94Cl28 and C92Cl32: Evidence of the Existence of Three New Isomers of C96

Chlorination of various HPLC fractions of C₉₆ with a mixture of VCl₄ and SbCl₅ at 340–360 °C and single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction study of the products led to the identification of three new IPR isomers of C₉₆. The C₉₆(175) isomer forms a stable chloride, C₉₆(175)Cl₂₀, while chlorides of two other new isomers, C₉₆(114) and C₉₆(80), undergo cage shrinkage yielding C₉₄(NC1)Cl₂₈ and C₉₆(NC2)Cl₃₂ with non‐classical (NC) cages. These two NC chlorides contain, respectively, one and two heptagons flanked by pairs of fused pentagons and are stabilized by chlorine attachment to the emerging pentagon–pentagon junctions. Thus, the number of the experimentally confirmed C₉₆ isomers has reached nine, which corroborates the empirical rule that the C_6n fullerenes exhibit particularly rich isomerism.     

Chlorofullerenes with isomeric C86 carbon cages: C86(16)Cl16 and C86(17)Cl18,20

Chlorofullerenes C₈₆(16)Cl₁₆ and C₈₆(17)Cl_18,20 were prepared by chlorination of C_s-C₈₆(16) and C₂-C₈₆(17), respectively, with VCl₄ at 320–340 °C. An X-ray crystallo- graphic study with the use of synchrotron radiation revealed the chlorination patterns which show certain similarity due to only small differences between isomeric C₈₆ cages.     

Chlorination of IPR C100 Fullerene Affords Unconventional C96Cl20 with a Nonclassical Cage Containing Three Heptagons

Chlorination of C₁₀₀ fullerene with a mixture of VCl₄ and SbCl₅ afforded C₉₆Cl₂₀ with a strongly unconventional structure. In contrast to the classical fullerenes containing only hexagonal and pentagonal rings, the C₉₆ cage contains three heptagonal rings and, therefore, should be classified as a fullerene with a nonclassical cage (NCC). There are several types of pentagon fusions in the C₉₆ cage including pentagon pairs and pentagon triples. The three‐step pathway from isolated‐pentagon‐rule (IPR) C₁₀₀ to C₉₆(NCC‐3hp) includes two C₂ losses, which create two cage heptagons, and one Stone–Wales rotation under formation of the third heptagon. Structural reconstruction established C₁₀₀ isomer no. 18 from 450 topologically possible IPR isomers as the starting C₁₀₀ fullerene. Until now, no pristine C₁₀₀ isomers have been confirmed based on the experimental results.     

Connectivity Patterns of Two C90 Isomers Provided by the Structure Elucidation of C90Cl32

Two for the price of one : The first halogenated derivative of C₉₀, C₉₀Cl₃₂ (see structure; gray C, green Cl), is obtained by chlorination of a higher fullerene mixture with SbCl₅. Its molecular structure, elucidated by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, reveals the presence of two isomeric C₉₀ cages that correspond to C_2v isomer 46 and C_s isomer 34. The addition of 32 chlorine atoms is the maximum degree of chlorination achieved for fullerenes.

     

The Most Stable Isomers of Giant Fullerenes C102 and C104 Captured as Chlorides,C102(603)Cl18/20 and C104(234)Cl16/18/20/22

The chlorination of HPLC fractions with pristine giant fullerenes, C₁₀₂ and C₁₀₄, followed by X‐ray crystallographic study of chlorides, C₁₀₂(603)Cl_18/20 and C₁₀₄(234)Cl_16–22, confirmed the presence of the most stable IPR (IPR=Isolated Pentagon Rule) isomers, C₁₀₂(603) and C₁₀₄(234), in the fullerene soot. The discussion concerns the chlorination patterns of polychlorides and relative stability of pristine isomers of C₁₀₂ and C₁₀₄ fullerenes.     

Preparation and crystal structure of C84(11)Cl20,22, chloro derivatives of a C84 minor isomer

Chlorofullerenes C₈₄(11)Cl₂₀ and C₈₄(11)Cl₂₂ were prepared by chlorination of C₂–C₈₄(11) with VCl₄ at 340–360 °C. An X-ray crystallographic study with the use of synchrotron radiation revealed the chlorination patterns featuring only para additions in C₆Cl₂ hexagons.     

Four isomers of c(96) fullerene structurally proven as c(96) cl(22) and c(96) cl(24)

Direct proof of the cage connectivities of four isomers of C(96) , the highest isolable empty fullerene, has been achieved. C(96) fractions, which were isolated from fullerene soot by recycling HPLC, were chlorinated and the resulting single crystals of C(96) Cl(22) and C(96) Cl(24) were studied by X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. D(2) -C(96) (183)Cl(24) (see structure; gray C, green Cl) was obtained in two crystalline modifications.     

Two Successive C2 Losses from C86 Fullerene upon Chlorination with the Formation of Non‐classical C84Cl30 and C82Cl30

High‐temperature chlorination of a fullerene C₈₆ with VCl₄ afforded non‐classical C₈₄Cl₃₀ and C₈₂Cl₃₀ containing one and two heptagons, respectively, in the carbon cages. Two types of C₂ losses, which differ in the final arrangements of separate or fused pentagons, can occur successively in either order, producing rather flat or concave regions on the shrinked carbon cage. In the chlorination‐promoted skeletal transformation of C₈₆ (isomer no. 16) with the loss(es) of C₂ units, the structures of the starting, intermediate, and final compounds were all revealed unambiguously by X‐ray single crystal diffraction.     

Synthesis,Isolation and Structure of Trifluoromethylated Fullerene D3‐C78, C78(1)(CF3)10−18

High‐temperature trifluoromethylation of fullerene C₇₈ followed by HPLC separation of C₇₈(CF₃)_n derivatives resulted in the isolation and X‐ray structural characterization of 15 compounds, that is, two C₇₈(1)(CF₃)₁₀, three C₇₈(1)(CF₃)₁₂, four C₇₈(1)(CF₃)₁₄, and five C₇₈(1)(CF₃)₁₆ isomers as well as one isomer of C₇₈(1)(CF₃)₁₈. The addition patterns of the C₇₈(1)(CF₃)_n molecules are discussed in terms of trifluoromethylation pathways and relative formation energies.     

Six IPR isomers of C90 fullerene captured as chlorides: carbon cage connectivities and chlorination patterns

Three C(90) fractions were isolated by multi-step HPLC from fullerene soot obtained from direct current (DC) arc discharge of undoped graphite rods. C(90) of each fraction was chlorinated with VCl(4) or SbCl(5) in ampoules at 290-310 °C, affording a series of C(90)Cl(n) compounds. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography with the use of synchrotron radiation resulted in structure elucidation of seven C(90)Cl(n) compounds containing six different isolated pentagon rule (IPR) C(90) cages (the number of the C(90) isomer is given in the parentheses): C(90)(46)Cl(32) (I), C(90)(34)Cl(32) (II), C(90)(35)Cl(24) (III), and C(90)(35)Cl(28) (IV), C(90)(32)Cl(24) (V as co-crystals with III), co-crystals of C(90)(30)Cl(22) and C(90)(28)Cl(24) (VI), and C(90)(28)Cl(24) (VII). Cage connectivities of C(90) isomers 35 and 28 have been crystallographically confirmed for the first time. The chlorination patterns of the C(90)Cl(n) molecules are discussed in terms of the formation of isolated aromatic systems and isolated C=C double bonds on the fullerene cage. The distribution of six C(90) isomers in three HPLC fractions is compared with data from the literature.     

New Isolated‐Pentagon‐Rule and Skeletally Transformed Isomers of C100 Fullerene Identified by Structure Elucidation of their Chloro Derivatives

High‐temperature chlorination of C₁₀₀ fullerene followed by X‐ray structure determination of the chloro derivatives enabled the identification of three isomers of C₁₀₀ from the fullerene soot, specifically numbers 18, 425, and 417, which obey the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). Among them, isomers C₁‐C₁₀₀(425) and C₂‐C₁₀₀(18) afforded C₁‐C₁₀₀(425)Cl₂₂ and C₂‐C₁₀₀(18)Cl_28/30 compounds, respectively, which retain their IPR cage connectivities. In contrast, isomer C_2v‐C₁₀₀(417) gives C_s‐C₁₀₀(417)Cl₂₈ which undergoes a skeletal transformation by the loss of a C₂ fragment, resulting in the formation of a nonclassical (NC) C₁‐C₉₈(NC)Cl₂₆ with a heptagon in the carbon cage. Most probably, two nonclassical C₁‐C₁₀₀(NC)Cl_18/22 chloro derivatives originate from the IPR isomer C₁‐C₁₀₀(382), although both C₁‐C₁₀₀(344) and even nonclassical C₁‐C₁₀₀(NC) can be also considered as the starting isomers.     

Chlorination‐Promoted Cage Transformation of IPR C92 Discovered via Trifluoromethylation under Formation of Non‐classical C92(NC)(CF3)22

High‐temperature trifluoromethylation of isolated‐pentagon‐rule (IPR) fullerene C₉₂ chlorination products followed by HPLC separation of C₉₂(CF₃)_n derivatives resulted in the isolation and X‐ray structural characterization of IPR C₉₂(38)(CF₃)₁₈ and non‐classical C₉₂(NC)(CF₃)₂₂. The formation of C₉₂(38)(CF₃)₁₈ as the highest CF₃ derivative of the known isomer C₉₂(38) can be expected. The formation of C₉₂(NC)(CF₃)₂₂ was interpreted as chlorination‐promoted cage transformation of C₉₂(38) followed by trifluoromethylation of non‐classical C₉₂(NC) chloride. Noticeably, C₉₂(NC)(CF₃)₂₂ shows the highest degree of trifluoromethylation among all known CF₃ derivatives of fullerenes. The addition patterns of C₉₂(38)(CF₃)₁₈ and C₉₂(NC)(CF₃)₂₂ are discussed and compared to the chlorination patterns of C₉₂(38)Cl_n compounds.