The effects of a pyrrolidine functional group on the magnetic properties of N@C60

Performance of Toluene Removal in a Nonthermal Plasma Catalysis System over Flake-Like HZSM-5 Zeolite with Tunable Pore Size and Evaluation of Its Byproducts

In this study, a series of HZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by the chemical liquid-phase deposition method, and low concentration toluene degradation was carried out in an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, and N₂ adsorption analysis techniques. In addition, several organic contaminants were used to evaluate the adsorption performance of the prepared catalysts, and the effect of pore size on the removal efficiency of toluene and byproduct formation was also investigated. The unmodified HZSM-5 zeolite (Z0) exhibited good performance in toluene removal and CO₂ selectivity due to the diffusion resistance of ozone and the amounts of active species (OH• and O•). Meanwhile, the time of flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) result showed that there were more byproducts of the benzene ring in the gas phase under the action of small micropore size catalysts. Moreover, the surface byproducts were detected by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

A porphyrin-centred fullerene tetramer containing an N@C60 substituent

An N@C₆₀-containing C₆₀ tetramer was synthesized by quadruple 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (Prato) reaction. This molecule demonstrates the N@C₆₀ qubit's ability to form covalently linked arrays. Furthermore, it provides a promising scaffold with which to measure multiple qubit-qubit interactions; which must be well characterized for a functioning quantum information processing architecture.

Synthesis and EPR studies of the first water-soluble N@C60 derivative

The first water-soluble derivative of the paramagnetic endohedral fullerene N@C₆₀ has been prepared through the covalent attachment of a single addend containing two permethylated β-cyclodextrin units to the surface of the carbon cage. The line width of the derivative's EPR signal is highly sensitive to both the nature of the solvent and the presence of Cu(ii) ions in solution.

Probing the Dipolar Coupling in a Heterospin Endohedral Fullerene-Phthalocyanine Dyad

Paramagnetic endohedral fullerenes and phthalocyanine (Pc) complexes are promising building blocks for molecular quantum information processing, for which tunable dipolar coupling is required. We have linked these two spin qubit candidates together and characterized the resulting electron paramagnetic resonance properties, including the spin dipolar coupling between the fullerene spin and the copper spin. Having interpreted the distance-dependent coupling strength quantitatively and further discussed the antiferromagnetic aggregation effect of the CuPc moieties, we demonstrate two ways of tuning the dipolar coupling in such dyad systems: changing the spacer group and adjusting the solution concentration.

Synthesis of the first completely spin-compatible N@C60 cyclopropane derivatives by carefully tuning the DBU base catalyst

Two cyclopropane derivatives of N@C60 were synthesised by well-controlled Bingel reactions, in which 94% of the spin centres were retained, as confirmed by a series of quantitative electron spin paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements. Further study on the influence of the DBU catalyst base revealed a spin loss mechanism through a fullerene-DBU diradical.

Alignment of N@C60 derivatives in a liquid crystal matrix

The orientation of different N-substituted [N@C60]fulleropyrrolidine derivatives hosted in a nematic liquid crystal matrix has been studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. In this study, variations on the zero field splitting parameter of the guest species are employed as a means of determining their degree of orientation. Fulleropyrrolidines with more rigid N-substituents are preferentially oriented in the liquid crystal matrix, whereas those with less rigid substituents are almost randomly distributed. Additionally, the orientation of a C60 fullerene cage bearing a nitroxide radical has also been investigated in comparison.

Functionalized fullerenes in self-assembled monolayers

Anisotropy of intermolecular and molecule-substrate interactions holds the key to controlling the arrangement of fullerenes into 2D self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The chemical reactivity of fullerenes allows functionalization of the carbon cages with sulfur-containing groups, thiols and thioethers, which facilitates the reliable adsorption of these molecules on gold substrates. A series of structurally related molecules, eight of which are new fullerene compounds, allows systematic investigation of the structural and functional parameters defining the geometry of fullerene SAMs. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements reveal that the chemical nature of the anchoring group appears to be crucial for the long-range order in fullerenes: the assembly of thiol-functionalized fullerenes is governed by strong molecule-surface interactions, which prohibit formation of ordered molecular arrays, while thioether-functionalized fullerenes, which have a weaker interaction with the surface than the thiols, form a variety of ordered 2D molecular arrays owing to noncovalent intermolecular interactions. A linear row of fullerene molecules is a recurring structural feature of the ordered SAMs, but the relative alignment and the spacing between the fullerene rows is strongly dependent on the size and shape of the spacer group linking the fullerene cage and the anchoring group. Careful control of the chemical functionality on the carbon cages enables positioning of fullerenes into at least four different packing arrangements, none of which have been observed before. Our new strategy for the controlled arrangement of fullerenes on surfaces at the molecular level will advance the development of practical applications for these nanomaterials.