Inside and Outside Chemistry of Fullerenes

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With this new award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Professor Yves F. Rubin, of the Chemistry Department at the University of California-Los Angeles. This research will involve investigations of the synthesis and properties of fullerenes with substitutents both inside and outside of the cage. The synthesis of endohedrally substituted will follow a designed chemical functionalization approach ("molecular surgery") for breaking bonds within fullerene derivatives. Insertion of atoms or small molecules inside these open fullerenes will be followed by reclosure reactions to regenerate the integral fullerenes with their entrapped species. The ultimate goal of these experiments is the large scale preparation of endohedral metallofullerenes. Additional studies directed at regioselective functionalization on the outside of the fullerene cage will be carried out. In these investigations, multiple natural or unnatural amino acid units will be attached to the fullerene framework to build medium-sized peptide chains on fullerene scaffolds. Graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctorals engaged in this research will receive highly multidisciplinary training in sophisticated organic synthesis, crystal growth, X-ray diffraction, ESR spectroscopy, and magnetometry. These experiments are expected to aid in the development of advanced materials with nonlinear optical, magnetic, and superconducting properties.