An Evaluation of the Differential Partitioning and Separation of C60and C70Fullerenes in a Biphasic System Using Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC)

Abstract

Abstract The partition coefficients of C60 and C70 fullerenes were measured in several different organic, 2-phase (liquid-liquid) systems using centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC). The partition coefficients of C60 and C70 were sufficiently different in some biphasic solvent systems to provide a CPC separation of these fullerenes. A phase diagram was made of the best 2-phase system for fractionating C60 and C70 fullerenes. This system contained the solvents 1,2-dichlorobenzene, isooctane, and dimethylformamide (DMF). The separation times, selectivity, and efficiency are affected by the ratios of the major solvent components, the addition of small amounts of a quaternary solvent, and the temperature (in addition to the usual instrumental parameters). Preparative separations of fullerenes were done and a maximum batch production was calculated for one solvent system. It appears that a significantly greater amount of fullerenes can be purified per run in this system than in corresponding HPLC systems....