Abstract
The endohedral fullerene molecule, N@C60, is a candidate for molecular spin qubits (quantum bits) and spin probes owing to its exceptional electron spin properties. Advancements in the processing of N@C60 are key to obtaining samples of high purity on a reasonable timescale. We investigate enrichment by high throughput processing (flow rate of 18 L h(-1) and operating pressure of 1.5-2 MPa) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as a means of scaling N@C60 production. We use detection by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to map N@C60 during processing, and through the reconstruction of the peak position in the chromatogram, we are able to determine the retention time and relative purity of N@C60 without the need for its isolation. Based on this, we establish a procedure for time-efficient, high throughput processing to isolate N@C60 in high purity.
Highlights
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) offers a means of separating mixtures of endohedral fullerenes[1] in solution, according to parameters such as mass, structural isomerism and polarizability
It is possible to isolate endohedral fullerenes such as N@C60 – which is generated through the direct ion bombardment of C60 – using recycling HPLC,[4,5] and this is in spite of a yield of 10À5 to 10À4 (N@C60/C60) in the starting material and a mass difference of only 2% between the two molecules
We have introduced high throughput HPLC processing for the puri cation of N@C60, using ow rates of 18 L hourÀ1 and pressures of up to 2 MPa
Summary
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) offers a means of separating mixtures of endohedral fullerenes[1] in solution, according to parameters such as mass, structural isomerism and polarizability. The technique is effective in isolating individual endohedral metallofullerenes[2] owing to pronounced variations in size (mass and structure) of the fullerene cage, as well as variations in the encapsulated elements. It is possible to isolate endohedral fullerenes such as N@C60 N@C60 is paramagnetic, exhibiting narrow EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) linewidths, and has been selected as a model spin system in which to demonstrate EPR techniques.[6] Prompted by proposals for a scalable quantum computing architecture,[7,8] N@C60 has been investigated extensively as a molecular spin qubit (quantum bit),[9,10,11,12,13] utilising the long decoherence time N@C60 has been used for singlemolecule transistors,[21,22] enabling the measurement of spin excitations from electron tunnelling spectra
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