A small aperture enabling the encapsulation of HF in [60]fullerene

Abstract

A small aperture, allowing the encapsulation of hydrofluoric acid (HF), was made in [60]fullerene. To create this structure, reductive decarbonylation was performed on an open [60]fullerene with a 13-atom ring aperture, resulting in two primary derivatives with 14-atom apertures. The chemical structure of the aperture was found to be critical in determining the selectivity between the two derivatives. Despite the reaction being performed at 180 °C in the presence of water, the products spontaneously allowed a water molecule to pass through the aperture. However, under milder conditions at 0 °C, HF was encapsulated in the cavity. The encapsulation of HF led to a distinct shifting of proton signals attributed to the translational movement of HF in the cavity, as predicted by theoretical calculations.