(Nanocarbons Division Best Poster Award - 1st Place) Chemical Purification and Isolation of New Fullertube Molecules

Abstract

The fullertubes represent an exciting new type of molecular carbon. This unique structure consists of a nanotube belt similar to a rolled graphene substructure, but with two fullerene based endcaps. The demand for purified fullertubes is based on the excitement of application development and fundamental research. Regardless of the desired experiment, the first requirement is to obtain isomerically purified fullertubes. In this presentation, we discuss the separation challenges and solutions to these technical hurdles. We have overcome the low fullertube abundance in soot extract by a chemical based enrichment. In this selective reaction, spheroidal fullerenes are reacted and removed from solution. The unreacted fullertubes remain in solution and are enriched by several orders of magnitude. This precleanup step is critical and should be scalable to industry.