Separation of C60 and C70 Fullerenes by Thin-Layer Chromatography on Silica Gel Impregnated with Polymers

Abstract

Abstract Separation of C60 and C7 fullerenes was studied on silica gel layers impregnated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and poly(ethyl- ene oxide) (PEO) solutions at 0.5-2.5%. To evaluate the effect of polymer nature on the retention of fullerenes, ΔhRf’ values were determined: ΔhRf’ =hRf(impregnated siO2)-hRf(siO2). For all polymers, the ΔhRf’ values of fullerenes increased with increasing concentration (C) of the impregnating solution. At C = 2.5%, ΔhRf’ increased with polymer nature in the following order: PVA < PEO < PVP. The separation selectivity of fullerenes also improved. Increasing the concentration of acetate groups in PVA increased ΔhRf’. The nature of interaction between fullerene and polymers is discussed.