Synthesis, characterization, and neutron activation of holmium metallofullerenes
- Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)
- TDA Research, Wheat Ridge, CO (United States)
- NanoTechnologies of Texas, Bellaire, TX (United States)
- Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO (United States)
Isolation of the first macroscopic quantities of endohedral holmium metallofullerenes (principally Ho@C{sub 82}, Ho{sub 2}@C{sub 82}, and Ho{sub 3}@C{sub 82} by LD-TOF mass spectrometry) has been accomplished by carbon-arc and preparative HPLC methodologies. The detailed procedure for production and isolation of the metallofullerenes includes a new technique whereby holmium-impregnated electrodes are prepared simply by soaking porous graphite rods in an ethanolic solution of Ho(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}.xH{sub 2}O. Monoisotopic {sup 165}Ho offers a unique combination of advantages for neutron-activation studies of metallofullerenes, and purified samples containing {sup 165}Ho@C{sub 82}, {sup 165}Ho{sub 2}@C{sub 82}, and {sup 165}Ho{sub 3}@C{sub 82} have been activated by high-flux neutron irradiation ({Phi} = 4 x 10{sup 13}n cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}) to generate {sup 166}Ho metallofullerenes, which undergo {beta}{sup -} decay to produce stable {sup 166}Er. Chemical workup of the irradiated samples, followed by re-irradiation, has been used to demonstrate that observed decomposition of holmium metallofullerenes is due mainly to `fast` neutron damage rather than to holmium atom nuclear recoil (E{sub max} = 200 eV). This implies that metallofullerene damage can be minimized by using neutron fluxes with the highest possible thermal component. 60 refs., 4 figs.
- OSTI ID:
- 380777
- Journal Information:
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 118, Issue 34; Other Information: PBD: 28 Aug 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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