Friday, 15 May, 2015

A Highly-Ordered 3D Covalent Fullerene Framework

N.K. Minar, K. Hou, C. Westermeier, M. Döblinger, J. Schuster, F.C. Hanusch, B. Nickel, G.A. Ozin and T. Bein -
Angewandte Chemie International Edition DOI: 10.1002/anie.201411344 (2015)

A highly-ordered 3D covalent fullerene framework is presented with a structure based on octahedrally functionalized fullerene building blocks in which every fullerene is separated from the next by six functional groups and whose mesoporosity is controlled by cooperative self-assembly with a liquid-crystalline block copolymer. The new fullerene-framework material was obtained in the form of supported films by spin coating the synthesis solution directly on glass or silicon substrates, followed by a heat treatment. The fullerene building blocks coassemble with a liquid-crystalline block copolymer to produce a highly ordered covalent fullerene framework with orthorhombic Fmmm symmetry, accessible 7.5 nm pores, and high surface area, as revealed by gas adsorption, NMR spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and TEM. We also note that the 3D covalent fullerene framework exhibits a dielectric constant significantly lower than that of the nonporous precursor material.

Article on journal`s website