Separation Strategies for Isolating Yttrium Nitride Metallofullerenes Having Uncommon Carbon Cages

Indianapolis, IN

There is little information regarding yttrium nitride fullerenes (e.g., Y3N@C2n). Of this family of metallofullerenes, the dominant cage is C80, i.e., Y3N@C80, for which there are only a few publications. Even less scientific literature exists for the Y3N-based fullerenes having uncommon cages, such as Y3N@C78 and Y3N@C82-96. A limiting factor for the small number of experiments is the poor availability of purified Y3N@C2n samples, which to date have been limited to only microgram to milligram quantities. In this presentation, we address the separation bottleneck. In a first step, selective chemical attack of yttrium soot extract with aminopropanol permits an enriched sample of Y3N@C2n species. Next, a reaction with the Lewis acid, ZnCl2, permits a sample, e.g., Y3N@C88, having an even greater enrichment. In a final step, HPLC fraction collection provides purified Y3N@C2n samples.