Direct Fullerenation of Polycarbonate via Simple Polymer Reactions

Abstract

Direct fullerenation of polycarbonate (PC), a commercially important optical polymer, is achieved by simply irradiating a solution of PC and C60 at room temperature using a conventional UV lamp or by warming up a C60/PC solution to a moderate temperature (60 °C) in the presence of AIBN, a typical radical initiator. The extent of fullerenation is controllable by varying the C60 feed ratio, and a fullerenated PC with a C60 content as high as 6.3 wt % (or more than two C60 molecules per PC chain) is readily prepared in almost quantitative yield (99.7%). Molecular weights of the fullerenated PCs are higher than that of the parent polymer, suggesting that the fullerenation is realized via multiaddition to C60. The multiaddition, however, has not led to heavy cross-linking, and the fullerenated PCs are soluble in common organic solvents such as THF and chloroform. The fullerenation involves a radical mechanism, and its general applicability to other polymer systems is demonstrated by the ready attachment of C60 to poly(vinyl chloride), another commercially important polymer, by employing the AIBN-initiated fullerenation reaction.

Hyperbranched Poly(aryleneethynylene)s: Synthesis, Thermal Stability and Optical Properties

“…The hyperbranched poly(aryleneethynylene)s consist of clusters of aromatic rings and it was thought that they may exhibit optical limiting properties 27–30. This was proven to be the case.…”

Synthesis and light-emitting properties of C60-containing poly(1-phenyl-1-butyne)s

“…We have developed simple polymer reactions with general applicability for directly attaching C 60 to preformed polymers [15,16]. Polyacetylene is a prototypical conjugated polymer, and substituted polyacetylenes have been found to possess interesting material properties such as optical activity and liquid crystallinity [17±20].…”

Acetylenes with multiple triple bonds: A group of versatile An-type building blocks for the construction of functional hyperbranched polymers

“…The transmitted fluence, however, starts to deviate from the linearity at an incident fluence of w250 mJ/cm 2 and reaches a saturation plateau of w140 mJ/cm 2 . The optical limiting performance of hb-P(18/ IV) is superior to that of C 60 , a well-known optical limiter [53,54]. Taking into account that C 60 is a three-dimensionally p-conjugated buckyball, it may be concluded that the threedimensionally p-conjugated electronic structure of the hb-PArPs is responsible for their optical limiting properties.…”