PRODUCTION OF RADIOACTIVE FULLERENE FAMILIES USING ACCELERATORS

Radioactive fullerenes, labeled with C-11, were produced and identifie d by HPLC with UV and BGO detectors. The compounds were produced by th e C-12(y,n)C-11 reaction, using a bremsstrahlung of E(max) = 30 MeV. S oluble products, such as fullerene dimers produced by the reaction bet ween two fullerene molecules, were also detected. The C-11 nuclide was contained in a fullerene at the rate of about 60%-70% of the total am ount of C-11 produced when a C-60 sample was irradiated. To confirm th e production process, a mixture of C-60 and boron was irradiated by a 12 Mev proton beam to implant from the outside of the fullerene cage, following the B-11(p,n)C-11 reaction. These results were very similar those involving a photonuclear reaction. This indicates that the C-11 labeling process is due mainly to the recombination reaction between t he C-12 network and C-11.