Cascading Ecological Impacts of Fullerenes in Freshwater Ecosystems.

Carbonaceous nanomaterials, such as fullerenes (C60, C70) and the derivative phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), have promising application in solar energy technologies. Although the acute ecotoxicity of C60 has been reported widely in the literature, ecotoxicity assays for different fullerene forms and broader ecosystem impact studies remain scarce. To address these knowledge gaps, acute, chronic, and life stage exposure studies with freshwater zooplankton, Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex, were performed for each material.