Buckminsterfullerene, higher fullerenes, and their endohedral and fluorine derivatives

This paper presents an overview of recent works concerned with determination of the electron affinity (EA) and the ionization energy (IE) for higher fullerenes and their endohedral and fluorine derivatives. The numerical values of the electron affinity are analyzed for higher fullerenes up to C-106 and lanthanum, gadolinium, and scandium endohedral fullerenes, including Sc3N@C-80. Most attention is concentrated on two methods for producing fluorofullerenes, namely, direct fluorination of fullerenes with molecular fluorine in a manganese difluoride matrix and solid-phase reactions between fullerenes and fluorinating agents capable of donating fluorine to fullerene. The structures of three fluorofullerenes (C60F18, C60F20, and C60F48) characterized by a distortion of the carbon cage due to attachment of functional groups are discussed. (C) 2002 MAIK "Nauka / Interperiodica".