Buckminsterfullerene's (C_(60)) Octanol-Water Partition Coefficient (K_(ow)) and Aqueous Solubility

摘要

To assess the risk and fate of fullerene C_(60) in the environment its water solubility and partition coefficients in various systems are useful. In this study, the log K_(ow) of C_(60) was measured to be 6.67, and the toluene-water partition coefficient was measured at log K_(tw) = 8.44. From these values and the respective solubilities of C_(60) in water-saturated octanol and water-saturated toluene, C_(60)'s aqueous solubility was calculated at 7.96ng/L(1.11 × 10~(-11)M)forthe organic solvent-saturated aqueous phase. Additionally, the solubility of C_(60) was measured in mixtures of ethanol-water and tetrahydrofuran-water and modeled with Wohl's equation to confirm the accuracy of the calculated solubility value. Results of a generator column experiment strongly support the hypothesis that clusters form at aqueous concentrations below or near this calculated solubility. The K_(ow) value is compared to those of other hydrophobic organic compounds, and bioconcentration factors for C_(60) were estimated on the basis of K_(ow).