Fullerenes in solutions

Phenomena and processes related to the behaviour of fullerenes in solutions are reviewed. Data on the solubility of C-60 and C-70 in a large number of solvents at various temperatures are presented as well as on fullerene dif fusivity in solutions. The relation is analyzed between the factors control ling the behaviour of dissolved fullerenes and the clustering tendency they show. This tendency, which sets the fullerenes apart from other large mole cules, underlies many aspects of fullerene behaviour in solutions, such as the recently discovered non-monotonic temperature dependence of the fullere ne solubility in various solvents; nonlinear concentration dependence of no nlinear optical susceptibility; sharp dependence of the color of a fulleren e solution on the solution composition (solvatochromatic effect); the conce ntration dependence of the fullerene solubility heat; etc. Growth mechanism s of fractal clusters in fullerene solutions are analyzed and similarity la ws determining the thermodynamic characteristics of fullerite crystals are discussed.