CuCl2 for the isolation of a broad array of endohedral fullerenes containing metallic, metallic carbide, metallic nitride, and metallic oxide clusters, and separation of their structural isomers.

A typical arc-synthesis generates many types of fullerenes and endohedrals. Resulting soot extracts contain a complex mixture of >50 types of fullerenes, metallofullerenes, and their structural isomers. Prior to application development, novel separation methods are required to fractionate this rich array of metallic, metallic carbide, metallic nitride, and metallic oxide endohedrals, all of which can be present in a single, soot extract.

Selective synthesis, isolation, and crystallographic characterization of LaSc2N@I(h)-C80.

The successful preparation and isolation of the mixed-metal endohedral fullerene, LaSc(2)N@I(h)-C(80), and its structural characterization by single-crystal X-ray diffraction are reported. Results from chemically adjusting plasma temperature, energy, and reactivity (CAPTEAR) experiments indicate that a 10 wt % addition of Cu(NO(3))(2)·2.5H(2)O to a mixture of La(2)O(3) and Sc(2)O(3) decreases the amount of C(60) and C(70) found in soot extracts by an order of magnitude.