A Piggyback Ride for Transition Metals: Encapsulation of Exohedral Metallofullerenes in Carbon Nanotubes
A Piggyback Ride for Transition Metals: Encapsulation of Exohedral Metallofullerenes in Carbon Nanotubes
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DOI：
10.1002/chem.201001288
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发表时间：
2011-01-01
影响因子：
4.3
通讯作者：
Khlobystov, Andrei N.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chamberlain, Thomas W.;Champness, Neil R.;Khlobystov, Andrei N.
我们开发了一种方法，能够有效地将过渡金属原子及其小团簇插入到碳纳米管中。作为一个模型体系，由于富勒烯和碳纳米管特有的范德华相互作用，附着在富勒烯C-60(外面体金属富勒烯)表面的Os络合物被自发地不可逆地拖入纳米管中。连接到C-60上的含金属基团的大小被证明是成功插入的关键，因为在包裹过程中，太大而不能进入纳米管的官能团被从富勒烯上剥离。一旦进入纳米管，Os原子催化富勒烯笼子的聚合和分解，这与位于富勒烯笼子表面的金属原子比面体内富勒烯中的金属原子(如M@C-82)具有更高的催化活性有关。因此，外面体金属富勒烯在碳纳米试管中的催化应用前景看好。
We have developed a method that enables the efficient insertion of transition-metal atoms and their small clusters into carbon nanotubes. As a model system, Os complexes attached to the exterior of fullerene C-60 (exohedral metallofullerenes) were shown to be dragged into the nanotube spontaneously and irreversibly due to strong van der Waals interactions, specific to fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. The size of the metal-containing groups attached to C-60 was shown to be critical for successful insertion, as functional groups too bulky to enter the nanotube were stripped off the fullerene during the encapsulation process. Once inside the nanotube, Os atoms catalyse polymerisation and decomposition of fullerene cages, which is related to a much higher catalytic activity of metal atoms situated on the surface of the fullerene cage, as compared to metal atoms in endohedral fullerenes, such as M@C-82. Thus, exohedral metallofullerenes show promise for applications in catalysis in carbon "nano" test tubes.