A C-78 fullerene precursor: Toward the direct synthesis of higher fullerenes

摘要

A C-78 fullerene related structure (of C-78:1 and C-78:4, the last undiscovered C-78 IPR isomer) has been synthesized and investigated as a pyrolytic precursor. The pyrolysis of precursor containing all 78 carbon atoms in the required positions and 93 of the 117 C-C bonds, needed for fullerene formation, showed selectivity for C-78 fullerene formation. In independent experiments it has been shown that the flash pyrolysis of C-78 fullerene is not affected by Stone-Wales rearrangement and loss of C-2 fragments and, thus, is very promising for the synthesis of individual isomers of higher fullerenes.