Skip to main content

Polyhydroxylated Fullerene

Fullerene is an allotrope of carbon, its structure consists of carbon atoms connected to each other by sigma or pi bonds in order to form a closed or partially closed mash with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The fullerene molecule can comprise many shapes and sizes such as tube, ellipsoid, sphere and etc. Since their discovery in 1980s, fullerene has drawn considerable attention for the subject of intense research, especially in electronics, materials science, and nanotechnology.
Even though fullerenes have remarkable electronic and chemical properties, they have poor solubility in polar solvents such as water. This poor solubility prevents fullerenes’ potential uses in biological applications. Thus, scientific studies have been carried out to improve the solubility of fullerene in polar solvents. The one heavily studied functionalized fullerene is the Polyhydroxylated Fullerene (PHF, also named as Fullerenol or Fullerol) leading to enhanced solubility.
The studies have shown that Polyhydroxylated Fullerene has such a structure that is composed of 60 carbon atoms and hydroxyl groups attached to carbons (-OH). PHF has over 40 hydroxyl groups that gives the material higher water solubility (over 50 mg/mL).
Figure 1: Chemical structure of a polyhydroxylated fullerene (x=12 to 42)
Synthesis of Polyhydroxylated Fullerene
During the synthesis of PHF, firstly nitrogen dioxide radicals which were generated by reaction of sodium nitrite with concentrated HNO3 are added to C60 molecule (Fullerene) and since PHF has high reactivity towards the addition reaction of nitrogen dioxide. The chemical reaction results in polynitro fullerene C60(NO2)n. Then, the hydrolysis of polynitro fullerenes in aqeous NaOH yields to corresponding polyhydroxylated fullerenes (Fullerenols) in moderate overall yields.
Properties of Fullerenols
  • Enhanced solubility in polar solvents especially in water
  • High antioxidant activity due to presence of free radical scavengers
  • Exhibits antimicrobial activity as well
  
Application Areas
Read more about this material:

What is the fullerene?

Polyhydroxylated Fullerenes and Their Applications in Medicine

General Information About Fullerene C60, Also Known As Buckyballs

Fullerene C70 Specifications, History and Potential Applications

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Carbon Nanotube Threads

Since its discovery, carbon nanotube (CNT) has attracted many interests in different technology fields due to its extraordinary properties. Properties such as, high strength, great electrical and thermal conductivity, light weight and flexibility made CNT one of the best materials for wide range of applications. However, from its name it can be understood that CNT is a nanoscale material which is very small to be applied for the production of daily products. Researchers all around the world are working on finding methods and techniques which could produce new materials with the extraordinary properties of CNT. Image retrieved from:  https://worldindustrialreporter.com/strong-light-flexible-carbon-nanotubes-threads-with-ultrahigh-conductivity/ One of these research is focusing on the production of high strength threads that can be used in the manufacturing of fabrics, cables and ropes. An international group of scientists were able to produce a flexible conductive thread that i
Post a Comment
Read more

Multi Walled Carbon Nanotube Dispersions

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)  have attracted enormous attention in recent years due to its unique physical, electronic, optical and potential applications in materials science and nanotechnology. The van der Waals interaction between tubes, however, makes CNTs aggregate in most organic solvents and aqueous solutions, which is the major limitation of their practical applications.Various approaches have been studied to alter the CNT surface to promote the dispersion of individual nanotubes and prevent their reaggregation. On the basis of this widely accepted viewpoint, numerous techniques such as covalent bonding, surfactant coating and polymer wrapping have been developed for surface modification or sidewall functionalization.These methods, however, are complicated, time-consuming and cause permanent damage to the CNT structure and properties of the surface, which produces residues of the dispersion agent for the final product. Figure: Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) It has re
Post a Comment
Read more

Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder and Applications

General Information about Magnesium Oxide Magnesium oxide which has the chemical formula of MgO, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of Magnesium. It is a white powder at room temperature. Magnesium Oxide has very high melting point (2825  o C) and boiling point (3600  o C).                                                                                                                                                                                Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder and Usage Areas                                        Magnesium Oxide nanoparticles/nanopowder  can be used in many different areas. For example Magnesium Oxide nanoparticles/nanopowder are used as a fire retardant for chemical fiber and plastics trades. For making crucible, smelter, insulated conduit, electrode bar, and electrode sheet  Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles/Nanopowder  can be used as electric insulating material. Magnesium Oxide nan
Post a Comment
Read more