Synthesis of fullerene-silica hybrid materials

Fullerene/silica hybrid materials were obtained by radiation grafting on silica surface of toluene or decalin solutions of C60. As determined by thermogravimetric analysis, the amount of C60 grafted on silica surface was dependent from the radiation dose administered and independent from the C60 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 C60 in the hybrid material. The fullerene/silica hybrid material shows a remarkable thermal stability, since the early decomposition starts above 300 °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 13C CP-MAS NMR. The potential application of such materials has been outlined.