Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

C60 Oxide As A Key Component Of Aqueous C60 Colloidal Suspensions, Befrika Murdianti, Joshua Damron, Martha Hilburn, Randall Maples, Rangika Hikkaduwa Koralege, Sathish Kuriyavar, Kevin Ausman

Kevin D. Ausman

Stable aqueous fullerene colloidal suspensions (nC60) are demonstrated to rely on the [6,6]-closed epoxide derivative of the fullerene (C60O) for stability. This derivative is present, though often unrecognized, in small quantities in nearly all C60 starting materials due to a reaction with air. The low-yield formation of nC60 from organic solvent solutions results from a preferential partitioning and thus enrichment of C60O in the colloidal particles. This partitioning is significantly retarded in the nC60 synthesis method that does not involve organic solvent solutions: long-term stirring in water. Instead, this method relies on trace levels of ozone in the ambient atmosphere …