Polymerizing Peas in a Pod

Abstract

CHEMISTRY When materials are introduced into the narrow interior of a carbon nanotube, the confinement can alter their properties; for example, by stabilizing crystal forms that are unstable in the bulk. Britz et al. show that confinement can also affect the reactivity of fullerene epoxide (C60O) molecules that are lined up inside single-walled carbon nanotubes like peas in a pod, in a fashion similar to what has already been observed for fullerene (C60). When the C60O-containing nanotubes are heated for three days at 260°C, the C60O molecules form linear (C60O) n chains connected via C-O-C bonds. In contrast, when heated under bulk conditions, C60O forms a tangled, branched, three- dimensional polymer. — JFU Chem. Commun. 10.1039/b414247k (2005).