UV-Irradiation studies on C70 clusters in mixed solvents Original Research Article

We report polymerization of fullerene C70 through a solution route by UV irradiation of C70 clusters in an acetonitrile(75%)-toluene mixture. The XRD of the photoproduct indicated the amorphous nature of the product. Our FTIR study of the photoproduct did not reveal reversion to the monomeric state even on heating up to 500 °C, which is expected of a fullerene polymer. Also, the strong absorption band around 1050 and 1400 cm−1 seen in FTIR spectrum indicated the presence of a CN bond in the photoproduct. The presence of nitrogen in the photoproduct is due to the facile photochemical reaction of nitrogen of the acetonitrile solvent with C70. Hence we infer that the photoproduct is not an all carbon polymer but only a copolymer of C70 with monomer units bridged by nitrogen atoms.