Mass spectrometry and fullerenes

This article presents, from amass spectrometry perspective, an historical account of research on gas-phase carbon clusters, which has led to the discovery of another form of carbon, fullerenes. In addition, more recent mass spectrometric studies on analysis of fullerene derivatives and synthesis of doped fullerenes are described. The early, strong evidence for certain “magic number” carbon clusters, most notably C₆₀ (buckminsterfullerene), was obtained largely from mass spectrometric experiments. These studies led to the controversial postulation of the soccerball structure for C₆₀, which provoked increased experimental and theoretical efforts. This research eventually resulted in the discovery of a simple method by which large quantities of fullerenes can be produced. The availability of these new, all-carbon molecules has motivated a broad range of synthetic and characterization studies that are expanding at a frenetic pace. Mass spectrometry not only played a critical role in the discovery of fullerenes but also now is crucial for determination of the unusual chemical and physical properties of fullerenes and fullerene-based materials.     

Some aspects of the symmetry and topology of possible carbon allotrope structures

Elemental carbon has recently been shown to form molecular polyhedral allotropes known as fullerenes in addition to the familiar graphite and diamond known since antiquity. Such fullerenes contain polyhedral carbon cages in which all vertices have degree 3 and all faces are either pentagons or hexagons. All known fullerenes are found to satisfy the isolated pentagon rule (IPR) in which all pentagonal faces are completely surrounded by hexagons so that no two pentagonal faces share an edge. The smallest fullerene structures satisfying the IPR are the known truncated icosahedral C₆₀ of I _h symmetry and ellipsoidal C₇₀ of D _5h symmetry. The multiple IPR isomers of families of larger fullerenes such as C₇₆, C₇₈, C₈₂ and C₈₄ can be classified into families related by the so-called pyracylene transformation based on the motion of two carbon atoms in a pyracylene unit containing two linked pentagons separated by two hexagons. Larger fullerenes with 3ν vertices can be generated from smaller fullerenes with ν vertices through a so‐called leapfrog transformation consisting of omnicapping followed by dualization. The energy levels of the bonding molecular orbitals of fullerenes having icosahedral symmetry and 60n ² carbon atoms can be approximated by spherical harmonics. If fullerenes are regarded as constructed from carbon networks of positive curvature, the corresponding carbon allotropes constructed from carbon networks of negative curvature are the polymeric schwarzites. The negative curvature in schwarzites is introduced through heptagons or octagons of carbon atoms and the schwarzites are constructed by placing such carbon networks on minimal surfaces with negative Gaussian curvature, particularly the so-called P and D surfaces with local cubic symmetry. The smallest unit cell of a viable schwarzite structure having only hexagons and heptagons contains 168 carbon atoms and is constructed by applying a leapfrog transformation to a genus 3 figure containing 24 heptagons and 56 vertices described by the German mathematician Klein in the 19th century analogous to the construction of the C₆₀ fullerene truncated icosahedron by applying a leapfrog transformation to the regular dodecahedron. Although this C₁₆₈ schwarzite unit cell has local O _h point group symmetry based on the cubic lattice of the D or P surface, its larger permutational symmetry group is the PSL(2,7) group of order 168 analogous to the icosahedral pure rotation group, I, of order 60 of the C₆₀ fullerene considered as the isomorphous PSL(2,5) group. The schwarzites, which are still unknown experimentally, are predicted to be unusually low density forms of elemental carbon because of the pores generated by the infinite periodicity in three dimensions of the underlying minimal surfaces. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Electrochemically formed fullerene-based polymeric films

The recent results of investigations involving the electrochemical formation of polymers containing fullerenes and studies of their properties and applications are critically reviewed. From a structural point of view, these polymers can be divided into four main categories including (1) polymers with fullerenes physically incorporated into the foreign polymeric network without forming covalent bonds, (2) fullerene homopolymers formed via [2+2] cycloaddition, (3) “pearl necklace” polymers with fullerenes mutually linked covalently to form polymer chains, and (4) “charm bracelet” polymers containing pendant fullerene substituents. The methods of electrochemical polymerization of these systems are described and assessed. The structural features and properties of the electrochemically prepared polymers and their chemically synthesized analogs are compared. Polymer films containing fullerenes are electroactive in the negative potential range due to electroreduction of the fullerene moieties. Related films made with fullerenes derivatized with electron-donating moieties as building blocks are electroactive in both the negative and positive potential range. These can be regarded as “double cables” as they exhibit both p- and n-doping properties. Fullerene-based polymers may find numerous applications. For instance, they can be used as charge-storage and energy-converting materials for batteries and photoactive units of photovoltaic cell devices, respectively. They can be also used as substrates for electrochemical sensors and biosensors. Films of the C₆₀/Pt and C₆₀/Pd polymers containing metallic nano-particles of platinum and palladium, respectively, effectively catalyze the hydrogenation of olefins and acetylenes. Laser ablation of electrochemically formed C₆₀/M and C₇₀/M polymer films (M=Pt or Ir) results in fragmentation of the fullerenes leading to the formation of hetero-fullerenes, such as [C₅₉M]⁺ and [C₆₉M]⁺.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Alan M. Bond on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Chicken-Wire Buckyballs

A method for building models of C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes from chicken wire is described. The flat, uncut chicken wire is representative of a sheet of graphite; therefore, the same medium may be used to compare these two allotropes of carbon.     

Energetics for the new forms of carbon-clusters

The growth of closedC _n -structures like fullerenes, shelled fullerenes, tubules and capped tubules controlled by the interplay of surface- and bending-energy is studied. Tubules are less stable than corresponding fullerenessC _n , and these are forn>n _c less stable than shelled fullerenes. Growth of fullerenes from graphite sheets requires bond breaking and bond rearrangement to form pentagons and finite temperatures to overcome energy barriers. Thermodynamical arguments are used to discuss the temperature- and size-dependence of the formation of the new forms of carbon. We argue that trapping of foreign atoms or molecules inside the closed structure may be achieved most efficiently by mixing these with carbon clusters before caging occurs.     

C60 carbon cages

Arrangements of carbon atoms in cage-like structures with no dangling bonds are considered as possible novel allotropic forms of carbon. Five different C₆₀ cages, having certain favorable structural characteristics, are identified. Quantitative resonance-theoretic calculations are made and compared to simpe Hückel results. The favored structure is found to be the so-called Buckminsterfullerene structure.     

Synthesis and some aspects of the formation mechanism of carbon structures under hydrothermal conditions

The formation of carbon structures upon the reactions of organic compounds with strong mineral acids under hydrothermal conditions was studied. The reactions were found to give amorphous carbon, microcrystalline graphite, nanodiamonds, diamond-like carbon, diamonds, C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes, and carbolite. Hydrocarbons of various compositions including aromatics and naphthenes were detected among the reaction products. A possible mechanism of the formation of carbon structures with sp ² bond hybridization under hydrothermal conditions was proposed.     

Polymer Nanocomposites Containing Fullerene C60 Nanofillers

Summary: The effect of fulleroids (fullerene C₆₀, mixture of C₆₀/C₇₀ and fulleroids soot which used for fullerenes production) and carbon fillers (carbon black, graphite) on mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites based on reactoplasts (epoxy resins) and thermoplasts (polyamide-12) was investigated. The nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization. It was found that additives of these fillers did not influenced on the properties of reactoplasts. Therefore, the tensile modulus and tensile strength of thermoplast based polymer nanocomposites are improved by about 30-40% with loading of 0.02-0.08 fulleroids materials. Best results were obtained for a mixture of C₆₀/C₇₀.     

Thermodynamics of carbyne

Published data on the thermodynamic properties of carbyne are analyzed and generalized. The thermodynamic properties of carbyne are compared with the properties of other allotropic modifications of carbon (fullerenes, diamonds, and graphite). Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 971–980, June, 2000.     

从零维到三维的碳范式:碳单质概念的新发展

自18世纪石墨与金刚石的组成被确定为碳元素后,碳单质概念初步形成。然而,20世纪末期,包括C₆₀在内的富勒烯一族的发现突破了人们对碳单质的认识。随后,碳纳米管、石墨烯以及人工合成的T-碳的出现,重新诠释了碳单质的概念。碳单质的新发现,建立了从零维到三维的碳范式,掀开了对“碳单质”研究和应用的新篇章。     

Monoelemental polymers: Structure and properties

Monoelemental polymers with various chemical constitutions and different spatial structures (linear Te _n , Se _n , and S _n ; planar graphite C _n , black phosphorus P _n , As _n , Sb _n , and Bi _n ; and chemically bonded three-dimensional diamond C _n , B _n , Si _n , and Ge _n ) were considered and categorized as a class of covalent macromolecular compounds. Quantitative expressions relating the thermal (melting point, thermal expansion coefficient, heat conductivity) and elastic (microhardness, bulk compression modulus of elasticity) properties of polymers to the energy of intra-and intermolecular interactions and the equilibrium length of chemical bonds in the crystalline and glassy states are given. A numerical correlation between the spatial structure of polymers and their thermal and elastic properties was obtained. The hypothetical melting point of diamond at normal pressure was calculated as T _f = 3155 K.     

Stability of small fullerenes C n (n=36,40 and 60): A topological and molecular orbital approach

Summary By semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations stability of fullerenes was analyzed in terms of topological parameters, such as the number of special fragments and the number of three types of abutting bonds between two 5-membered rings. Relative stability was compared by AM1 method for all spectrally distinct closed-shell isomers of C₃₆ and C₄₀ fullerenes, and for some closed-shell isomers of C₆₀ fullerene. Molecular geometries of these fullerenes were also optimized. Their relative stabilities were well explained by the instability of abutting bonds.     

Quantum-Chemical Simulation of New Hybrid Nanostructures: Small Fullerenes C20 and C28 in Single-Walled Boron-Nitrogen Nanotubes

A quantum-chemical simulation of new hybrid nanostructures consisting of regular chains of the small fullerenes C₂₀ and C₂₈ encapsulated into the bulk of achiral zigzag single-walled boron-nitrogen nanotubes [(C₂₀,C₂₈)@BN-NT]. The electronic properties and the nature of interatomic bonds in these nanostructures are analyzed as a function of the fullerene and the distances between fullerenes in the chain and between fullerenes and tube walls. The electronic characteristics of hybrid nanostructures are compared with those of "isolated" fullerenes and nanotubes, and (C20,C28) + BN-NT structures simulating fullerene adsorption on tube surface as the initial stage of (C₂₀,C₂₈)@BN-NT formation.     

2‐Aminoethanol Extraction as a Method for Purifying Sc3N@C80 and for Differentiating Classes of Endohedral Fullerenes on the Basis of Reactivity

Extraction with 2‐aminoethanol is an inexpensive method for removing empty cage fullerenes from the soluble extract from electric‐arc‐generated fullerene soot that contains endohedral metallofullerenes of the type Sc₃N@C_2n (n=34, 39, 40). Our method of separation exploits the fact that C₆₀, C₇₀, and other larger, empty cage fullerenes are more susceptible to nucleophilic attack than endohedral fullerenes and that these adducts can be readily extracted into 2‐aminoethanol. This methodology has also been employed to examine the reactivity of the mixture of soluble endohedral fullerenes that result from doping graphite rods used in the Krätschmer–Huffman electric‐arc generator with the oxides of Y, Lu, Dy, Tb, and Gd. For example, with Y₂O₃, we were able to detect by mass spectrometry several new families of endohedral fullerenes, namely Y₃C₁₀₈ to Y₃C₁₂₆, Y₃C₁₀₇ to Y₃C₁₂₅, Y₄C₁₂₈ to Y₄C₁₄₆, that resisted reactivity with 2‐aminoethanol more than the empty cage fullerenes and the mono‐ and dimetallo fullerenes. The discovery of the family Y₃C₁₀₇ to Y₃C₁₂₅ with odd numbers of carbon atoms is remarkable, since fullerene cages must involve even numbers of carbon atoms. The newly discovered families of endohedral fullerenes with the composition M₄C_2n (M=Y, Lu, Dy, Tb, and Gd) are unusually resistant to reaction with 2‐aminoethanol. Additionally, the individual endohedrals, Y₃C₁₁₂ and M₃C₁₀₂ (M=Lu, Dy, Tb and Gd), were remarkably less reactive toward 2‐aminoethanol.     

How we came to produce C60-fullerite

At the beginning two remarks. One to the nomenclature: Fullerite does not name a specific substance; it names a solid entirely consisting of fullerenes, i.e. closed-cage all-carbon molecules. When our method of synthesis is applied, a solid is obtained in which C₆₀ is the most abundant species. This material may thus be called C₆₀-fullerite. The other remark regarding the production of fullerite: in view of the ease with which this could be achieved, I have the feeling that fullerene molecules must belong to a very frequently overlooked molecular species in carbon chemistry. Since the synthesis is simple and does not require many words to be described, I thought it might be interesting to tell how we came to make fullerite.     

Effects of Precursors and Plasma Parameters on Fullerene Synthesis in RF Thermal Plasma Reactor

Synthesis of fullerenes from graphite powders of different grade was studied in a radiofrequency (RF) plasma reactor. Dependence of fullerene yield on the properties and feed rate of precursors and on the helium content of plasma gas was studied in details. The fullerene yield was influenced by the mean size and the thermal conductivity of graphite particles on the one hand, and the helium content of the gas phase on the other. Soot containing fullerene mixture of 5.9% was produced in best conditions found in this work. The main component of the fullerene mixture was C₆₀. In addition, it contained about 30% of C₇₀ (corresponding to a C₆₀/C₇₀ mass ratio of 2.64). Higher fullerenes such as C₈₄ were also detected by mass spectroscopy (MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).     

Further test of the isolated pentagon rule: Thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of C84 fullerene isomers

Thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of 73 C₈₄ fullerene isomers were estimated from the MM3 heats of formation and the recently defined bond resonance energies (BREs), respectively. The BRE represents the contribution of a given π bond in a molecule to the topological resonance energy (TRE). All π bonds shared by two pentagons turned out to be highly reactive without exceptions. C₈₄ fullerene isomers with such π bonds must be incapable of survival during harsh synthetic processes. Thus, the isolated pentagon rule (IPR) proved to be applicable to such large fullerene cages. For sufficiently large fullerenes like C₈₄, some isolated-pentagon isomers are also predicted to be very unstable with highly antiaromatic π bonds. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Extraction of fullerene mixture from fullerene soot with organic solvents

Investigation of extraction of fullerene mixture from the fullerene soot obtained by plasma erosion of graphite rod in helium atmosphere with different solvents such as α-chloronaphthalene, o-dichlorobenzene, o-xylene, toluene, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, and n-hexane at 25°C was carried out. Completeness and effectiveness of extraction as well as relative content of light (C₆₀, C₇₀) and heavy (C₇₆, C₇₈, C₈₄) fullerenes in the extract were evaluated.     

Atomic structure and electronic properties of nanopeapods: Isomers of endohedral dititanofullerenes Ti2@C80 in carbon nanotubes

The atomic structure, charge and electronic parameters, and energies of formation of new “hybrid” nanostructures-nanopeapods Ti₂@C₈₀@C-NTs, regular linear ensembles of seven isomers of endohedral dititanofullerenes Ti₂@C₈₀ encapsulated into a carbon zigzag (19.0) nanotube—have been calculated by the self-consistent density functional tight-binding method (DFTB). The results are discussed in comparison to the “free” isomers of C₈₀ fullerenes and Ti₂@C₈₀ endofullerenes, as well as to all-carbon nanopeapods, i.e., C₈₀ isomers inside a carbon nanotube (C₈₀@C-NT). It is demonstrated that the type of Ti₂@C₈₀ isomer determines the energy effect of its encapsulation into the tube (exo-or endothermic), the orientational arrangement of end-ofullerenes in the tube, the charge states of the Ti₂@C₈₀ and tube atoms, and the electronic properties of nanopeapods (semiconducting or metallic).