Fluorination of pressure-polymerized C60 phases Original Research Article

The reactivity of O-, T- and R-phases of the high pressure–high temperature (HPHT) polymerized C60 towards gaseous fluorine in the temperature range of 50–250 °C was investigated. The reaction products were characterized by FTIR, powder X-ray diffraction, SEM, EDX, and VTP-EIMS to determine the bulk stoichiometries, bonding patterns, phase compositions, crystalline structures and thermal decomposition behavior of the fluorinated polymers. At 1 h isothermal treatment duration, fluorinated products with various bulk stoichiometries were obtained from different polymer phases with the R-phase showing the highest fluorine uptake. At 250 °C, all C60 polymers showed partial decomposition to unfluorinated C60 monomer under fluorine atmosphere. At 200 °C, the fluorination of R-phase yielded a pure fluoropolymer most likely having a {C60Fx}n (x = 36–44) composition. The same fluoropolymer was presumably obtained from O- and T-phases in lower yields. The linear chain structure was suggested for this new fluorocarbon polymer in agreement with the molecular mechanics modeling calculations.