C60F36 CONSISTS OF 2 ISOMERS HAVING T AND C-3 SYMMETRY

C60F36 has been obtained by fluorination of [60]fullerene with MnF3 at 350 degrees C under vacuum. HPLC separation involving elution first w ith toluene (to separate highly polar C60F18 which has a much longer r etention time, and in one run, C60F20 which has a retention time simil ar to that of C60F18), then with toluene-hexane mixtures, and finally hexane, produces two main fractions of C60F36, each giving a 1404 amu mass spectrum. The F-19 NMR spectrum of the first fraction (which is a lso the major and more volatile component) consists of 12 lines of equ al intensity showing it to have C-3 symmetry. The spectrum of the seco nd fraction consists of three lines of equal intensity, indicating it to be the Tisomer, confirmed by C-13 NMR spectroscopy which shows two lines of equal intensity in the sp(2) region; the ratio of the two fra ctions is ca. 3:1, respectively. Both the Tisomer and a low energy C-3 isomer contain the C60F18 moiety as a subset. A reason for the failur e to observe any of the predicted D-3d isomer is conjectured. The mass spectrum of purified C60F36 shows the presence of a trace of C60F38 ( which is more volatile).