POLYELECTROLYTE-CONTAINING FULLERENE-I - SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE COPOLYMERS OF 4-VINYLBENZOIC ACID WITH C-60

Polymerization of 4-vinylbenzoic acid in the presence of C-60 using fr ee radical initiator resulted in covalent incorporation of C-60 in the polymer structure. Incorporation of the C60 moieties in the polymer w as established by In, NMR, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The solution UV-vi s spectra of these C-60-containing copolymers appear to be dominated b y scattering, obscuring specific electronic excitation features associ ated with the fullerene. UV-vis spectral analysis of filtrate fraction s collected using filters of varying pore sizes indicates that polymer s form microgels with polydisperse particle sizes (micron to submicron dimensions) in solution that extensively scatter at shorter wavelengt hs. Differences in the fluorescence properties of the filtered fractio ns and unfiltered samples were observed. Furthermore, fluorescence emi ssion spectra of a copolymer showed wavelength-dependent behavior. Pol yelectrolyte behavior of these copolymers was studied by concentration dependent viscosity changes of the polymers in aqueous NaOH solutions of varying ionic strength. These copolymer microgels formed stable mo nolayers at the air-water interface of a Langmuir-Blodgett film balanc e. Solubilization of these polymers in dilute alkali solution offers a novel route to prepare fullerene-containing polyelectrolytes.