HIGH-YIELD REACTIVE EXTRACTION OF GIANT FULLERENES FROM SOOT

By the common Soxhlet extraction with 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene a mere 8 mass % of virgin fullerene soot can be dissolved. The extracted soot w as subjected to a reactive extraction with 5-hexadecanamido-1,3-dihydr o-2-benzothiophene 2,2-dioxide (4), an ortho-quinodimethane precursor. Through an irreversible Diels-Alder cycloaddition an additional 12 ma ss % was solubilized. Mass spectrometry, vapour pressure osmometry and elemental analysis indicate that the soluble material consists of mul tiple adducts of fullerenes C-60-C-418.