SBIR Phase I: Advanced Fullerene Production

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发和评估用于回收巨大和不溶性富勒烯的电化学方法，这些富勒烯包括由碳氢化合物燃烧路线制成的大部分富勒烯。在TDA的燃烧系统产生的富勒烯，约。10 0E 12%的原始烟灰重量作为富勒烯（C60、C70等）回收通过用邻二甲苯洗涤烟灰并过滤。然而，其他分析表明，大多数富勒烯不能通过简单的洗涤技术回收。在先前的NSF SBIR阶段I中，Diener和阿尔福德（Nature 393，688）展示了用于从混合富勒烯升华物中分离C74、巨型富勒烯和其它传统上不溶性富勒烯的电化学方法。这个第一阶段项目是为了将这些想法扩展到处理提取的烟灰，并在一公斤或更大的批量规模上实施。 回收的富勒烯将用于需要更坚固但仍是富勒烯材料或涂层的应用。一种可能性是用于人造生物材料的碳涂层，其中纳米级的粗糙度促进细胞生长并增加碳的高生物相容性。在钢植入物上的高富勒烯的薄而坚固的膜可能提供碳植入物的高性能，但成本只有一小部分。小带隙富勒烯也可能具有利用其假定的三维导电性的作用，作为光学限制器或作为纳米技术设备的支架。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop and assess electrochemical methods for recovery of the giant and insoluble fullerenes that comprise the bulk of the fullerenes made by the hydrocarbon combustion route. Of the fullerenes produced by the combustion system at TDA, ca. 10 0E 12 % of the raw soot weight is recovered as fullerenes (C60, C70, etc.) by washing the soot with o-xylene and filtering. Yet other analyses demonstrate that most of the fullerenes are not recovered by straightforward washing techniques. In a prior NSF SBIR Phase I, Diener and Alford (Nature 393, 688) demonstrated an electrochemical method for separation of C74, giant fullerenes, and other traditionally insoluble fullerenes from mixed fullerene sublimate. This Phase I project is for the expansion of those ideas to processing of the extracted soot and implementation on a kilogram or greater batch scale. The recovered fullerenes will be useful for applications demanding a more robust, but still fullerenic material or coating. One possibility is carbon coatings for artificial biomaterials, where roughness on a nanometer scale promotes cell growth and increases the already high biocompatibility of carbon. A thin, robust film of higher fullerenes on steel implants potentially offers the high performance of carbon implants, but with a fraction of the cost. It is also possible that the small bandgap fullerenes could have roles that make use of their postulated three- dimensional electrical conductivity, as optical limiters, or as scaffolds for nanotechnological devices.