The Large Nd3N@C2n (40 < =n <= 49) Cluster Fullerene Family: Preferential Templating of a C_(88) Cage by a Trimetallic Nitride Cluster

摘要

The field of trimetallic nitride endohedral fullerenes began in 1999 with the discovery of Sc3N@C_(80) by Dorn and coworkers. They vaporized graphite rods packed with scandium oxide in a Kratschmer-Huffman arc reactor under a mixture of nitrogen and helium. Later, Dunsch and coworkers showed that the same compound can be obtained in higher yields under a mixture of helium and ammonia. Scandium is the smallest metal that has been shown to form a trimetallic nitride cluster inside a fullerene. The conditions described by Dunsch et al. afford mainly Sc3N@C_(80) in high yields, as compared to reported mono-, di-, or trimetalloful-lerenes, along with small amounts of Sc3N@C_(68) and Sc3N@ C_(78) (Figure 1, top HPLC trace).