Synthesis of fullerene-silica hybrid materials

Fullerene/silica hybrid materials were obtained by radiation grafting on silica surface of toluene or decalin solutions of C-60. As determined by thermogravimetric analysis, the amount of C-60 grafted on silica surface was dependent from the radiation dose administered and independent from the C-60 concentration and the nature of the organic solvent. In absence of air, a dose of 48 kGy was sufficient to ensure a grafting level of 30% by weight of C-60 in the hybrid material. The fullerene/silica hybrid material shows a remarkable thermal stability, since the early decomposition starts above 300 A degrees C as measured by DTG and DTA. The chemical structure of the fullerene/silica hybrid material was determined by FT-IR spectroscopy and with solid state C-13 CP-MAS NMR. The potential application of such materials has been outlined.