Spectrophotometric and thermodynamic studies of [60]fullerene/methylbenzene charge transfer complexes

The absorption spectra of charge-transfer (CT) complexes of [60]fullerene with liquid methylbenzenes, viz. toluene, o-xylene, ni-xylene, p-xylene and mesitylene have been investigated in CCl4 medium. An absorption band due to CT transition is observed in each case in the visible region. The experimental CT transition energies are well correlated (through Mulliken's equation) with the ionisation potentials (ID) of the series of methylbenzenes studied. From an analysis of this variation the electron affinity of [60]fullerene has been found to be 2.32 eV. The degrees of charge transfer in the ground state of the complexes have been found to be very low (0.66-0.775%). It has been found that these methylbenzenes form stable 1:1 complexes with [60]fullerene. Formation constants of the complexes have been determined at four different temperatures from which the enthalpies and entropies of formation of the complexes have been obtained. The experimentally determined formation constants of the complexes of [60]fullerene with methylbenzenes exhibit a very good linear free energy relationship (Chem. Rev. 53 (1953) 191). (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.