CHARACTERIZATION OF C60 AND C70 CLUSTERS

C60 and C70, new molecular forms of carbon, have been produced in macroscopic quantities and characterized by thermal desorption mass spectrometry, IR absorption, UV absorption, NMR, ESR, high performance liquid chromatography, electrochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy. Individual C60 molecules have been detected by transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemistry studies show that at least three anionic forms of C60 (C60(1-), C60(2-), and C60(3-)) and C70 can be produced in solution. Electron spin resonance studies of C60 show no evidence for any free spin. Purified samples of C60 and C70 are obtained by liquid chromatography. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) shows that the retention time for C60 is smaller to that for 4-ring aromatic hydrocarbons. Chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CI-MS) shows that electron capture is more favorable than protonation for C60 and C70. IR spectra of chromatographic separated C60 and C70 are contrasted.