Anion radicals of [60]fullerenes. An EPR study

Photochemically induced electron transfer in homogeneous systems (using triethylamine donor) and heterogeneous systems (using photoexcited TiO2 suspension) was applied in in situ reduction of [60]fullerene. The anion radicals generated were characterized by means of EPR and VIS/near-IR spectroscopy. Narrow EPR lines were found. Radical A with g(A) = 2.0000 and peak-to-peak width, pp(A) = 0.09 mT was observed as the primary product; followed by its consecutive product B with g(B) = 2.0006, pp(B) = 0.04 mT, and in some cases product C with g(C) = 2.0009 and pp(C) < 0.1 mT. Radical A was assigned to [60]fullerene mono-anion, also characterized by a near-IR band at 1077 nm. B is presumably di-anion or a dimeric form of mono-anion. Identical results were also obtained using cathodic in situ reduction. Applying these generation techniques to [60]fullerene derivatives produced narrow EPR lines analogous to those described for pristine [60]fullerene. This was the case not only in organic solvents, but also in aqueous solutions. The results obtained present a contrast with the original ex situ EPR investigations describing [60]fullerene mono-anion with wide lines. According to the results presented here, the narrow and wide EPR lines do not represent contradictory phenomena, but are an integral part of the relatively complicated manifestations of various fullerene states and both will have to be seriously considered in the future.