In spite of their importance in fundamental and applied studies, the preparation of endohedral fullerenes has relied on difficult-to-control physical methods. We report a four-step organic reaction that completely closes a 13-membered ring orifice of an open-cage fullerene. This process can be used to synthesize a fullerene C60 encapsulating molecular hydrogen, which can be isolated as a pure product. This molecular surgical method should make possible the preparation of a series of C60 fullerenes, encapsulating either small atoms or molecules, that are not accessible by conventional physical methods.

By applying high-pressure H2 to a new fullerene derivative, C63NO2SPh2Py (1), having a 13-membered-ring orifice, 100% incorporation of a H2 molecule into the fullerene cage has been achieved for the first time. This result substantiates the theoretical calculations indicating that the energy barrier required for H2 insertion through an orifice in 1 is considerably lower than that for the previously reported derivative with the largest orifice among open-cage fullerenes synthesized thus far. Upon matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectroscopy, the removal of organic addends from the fullerene derivative 1 encapsulating H2 and restoration of the pristine C60 cage, which retains approximately one-third of incorporated H2, have been observed.

We report the details of our study to synthesize a new endohedral fullerene, H2@C60, in more than 100 mg quantities by closure of the 13-membered ring orifice of an open-cage fullerene using four-step organic reactions. The 13-membered ring orifice in a previously synthesized open-cage fullerene incorporating hydrogen in 100% yield was reduced to a 12-membered ring by extrusion of a sulfur atom at the rim of the orifice, and the ring was further reduced into an eight-membered ring by reductive coupling of two carbonyl groups also at the orifice. Final closure of the orifice was completed by a thermal reaction. Purification of H2@C60 was accomplished by recycle HPLC. A gradual downfield shift of the NMR signal for the encapsulated hydrogen observed upon reduction of the orifice size was interpreted based on the gauge-independent atomic orbital (GIAO) and the nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) calculations. The spectral as well as electrochemical examination of the properties of H2@C60 has shown that the electronic interaction between the encapsulated hydrogen and outer C60 pi-system is quite small but becomes appreciable when the outer pi-system acquires more than three extra electrons. Four kinds of exohedral derivatives of H2@C60 were synthesized. The tendency in the shift of the NMR signal of the inner hydrogen was found to be quite similar to that observed for the 3He NMR signal of the corresponding derivatives of 3He@C60.

A thermal liquid-phase reaction of fullerene C(60) with 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine afforded aza-open-cage fullerene derivative 5 having an eight-membered-ring orifice on the fullerene cage. Compound 5 was found to undergo oxidative ring-enlargement reactions with singlet oxygen under photo-irradiation to give azadioxo-open-cage fullerene derivatives 9 and 10, which have a 12-membered-ring orifice, in addition to a small amount of azadioxa-open-cage fullerene derivative 11, which has a 10-membered-ring orifice. A thermal reaction of 9 with elemental sulfur in the presence of tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene resulted in further ring-enlargement to give azadioxothia-open-cage fullerene derivative 15, which has a 13-membered-ring orifice. The structures of 5 and 15 were determined by X-ray crystallography, while those of 9, 10, and 11 were confirmed by the agreement of observed (13)C NMR spectra with those obtained by DFT-GIAO calculations. These reactions were rationalized based on the results of molecular orbital calculations. Following electrochemical measurements, compounds 9 and 10, which have two carbonyl groups on the rim of the orifice, were found to be more readily reduced than C(60) itself (the first reduction potential was found to be 0.2 V lower than that of C(60)), while the first reduction potentials of other open-cage fullerene derivatives, 5, 11, and 15, were nearly the same as that of C(60).

A thermal reaction of fullerene C(60) with 4,6-dimethyl-1,2,3-triazine (4) in o-dichlorobenzene gave azacyclohexadiene-fused fullerene derivative 5, by the reaction with intermediate azete 11, and then, after flash chromatography over SiO(2), open-cage fullerene derivative 6 having an eight-membered ring orifice on the C(60) cage. Compound 6 is assumed to be formed via addition of diradical intermediate 13 to C(60). Compound 6 underwent a further photochemical reaction with singlet oxygen with the cleavage of one of the double bonds at the rim of the orifice to afford triketone derivative 8 having a 12-membered ring orifice.

New endohedral fullerene C(70) encapsulating one and two H(2) molecule(s) has been synthesized by organic reactions, the so-called "molecular surgery" method, and the first organic derivatization of H(2)@C(70) and (H(2))(2)@C(70) has been conducted. Although the interaction between inner H(2) and outer C(70) is rather weak, (H(2))(2)@C(70) exhibits smaller equilibrium constants in the Diels-Alder reaction with 9,10-dimethylanthracene than those of H(2)@C(70).

Recent attempts at the synthesis of endohedral fullerenes by organic reactions, so-called "molecular surgery" methods, are surveyed. The creation of an opening on the surface of fullerene cages allowed insertion of He, H(2), H(2)O, or CO within the cages. An effective route to "suture" an opening was established to realize a new endohedral fullerene, H(2)@C(60). Further development of this operation as well as the properties and reactions of H(2)@C(60) are summarized. Also the application of the encapsulated H(2) molecule as an NMR probe for the study of aromaticity of ionic fullerenes is described.

We present an overview of solid-state NMR studies of endohedral H(2)-fullerene complexes, including (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra, (1)H and (13)C spin relaxation studies, and the results of (1)H dipole-dipole recoupling experiments. The available data involves three different endohedral H(2)-fullerene complexes, studied over a wide range of temperatures and applied magnetic fields. The symmetry of the cage influences strongly the motionally-averaged nuclear spin interactions of the endohedral H(2) species, as well as its spin relaxation behaviour. In addition, the non-bonding interactions between fullerene cages are influenced by the presence of endohedral hydrogen molecules. The review also presents several pieces of experimental data which are not yet understood, one example being the structured (1)H NMR lineshapes of endohedral H(2) molecules trapped in highly symmetric cages at cryogenic temperatures. This review demonstrates the richness of NMR phenomena displayed by H(2)-fullerene complexes, especially in the cryogenic regime.