ALL-CARBON POLYMERS (POLYFULLERENES) FROM PHOTOCHEMICAL-REACTIONS OF FULLERENE CLUSTERS IN ROOM-TEMPERATURE SOLVENT MIXTURES

Polyfullerenes, which are polymers of covalently cross-linked fulleren e molecules, are a new class of all-carbon polymeric materials in addi tion to graphite and diamond. The facile preparation of these material s can be accomplished by taking advantage of a unique property of the fullerenes C-60 and C-70, namely that they form clusters in solvent mi xtures consisting of fullerene-soluble and fullerene-insoluble compone nts. The formation and properties of C-60 and C-70 clusters in toluene -acetonitrile mixtures are investigated. High molecular weight polyful lerenes are prepared from photochemical reactions of the fullerene clu sters in carefully deoxygenated toluene-acetonitrile solutions at room temperature. The polymers are characterized by photon correlation spe ctroscopy of quasi-elastic light scattering, matrix-assisted laser des orption ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy, NMR, FT-IR, and o ptical spectroscopic methods.