Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene/C60 fullerene structures by photoluminescence

Fullerene C60 has attracted attention due to its special chemical and physical properties. However, its poor solubility and processability arise difficulties in practical applications. These problems may be surpassed by grafting C60 on polymers. This study presents the synthesis of the polyethylene/maleic anhydride copolymers and C60 structures and their characterization by photoluminescence. The synthesis of the material is based upon the reaction of fullerene C60 with amino groups containing in the polymer chains. In the first step, some polyethylene (PE)/maleic anhydride (MA) copolymers having 1, 3, 6 and 10 wt.% anhydride groups were reacted with an amine compound. The following step consists in the reaction of C60 with the amine groups. A proof that the structures synthesized contain C60 is given by the photoluminescence spectra.