PREPARATION OF FULLERENES USING A SOLAR FURNACE

The high intensity of solar radiation, obtained with the Odeillo (Fran ce) solar furnace facilities, is used to vaporize graphite in inert ga s atmosphere. The soot obtained contains C-60, C-70 and other heavier fullerenes. We discuss the possibility of increasing the evaporation o f graphite and the yield of soot with this technique. From our last ex periments, we obtain an estimate of the soluble fullerene yield which varies with the pressure and can reach 18%, and we have shown that C-1 3-enriched fullerenes can be easily produced by this process.