On the Formation and Stability of Fullerenes

Abstract

Fullerenes (especially the higher ones) degrade to an insoluble material on storage in air. The C 2v(II) isomer of [78]fullerene is completely degraded after storage for 5 months. The extreme instability may account for the variable yields of this isomer obtained by different research groups. Strong heating of KBr discs of these insoluble materials produces CO2 showing that they are oxygen containing. Given this inherent instability of fullerenes, the question arises as to why they are formed in the first place. It is argued that the formation is not a unique consequence of the need to eliminate dangling bonds produced during carbon vaporisation by the arc-discharge procedure. Rather, fullerene formation is favoured by a higher intramolecular dangling-bond collision frequency (i.e. much higher Arrhenius A-factor) for cage closure compared to the intermolecular collisions that lead to the more stable graphitic sheets.