C60-PMO:: Periodic mesoporous buckyballsilica

Here we report the first documented synthesis of a periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO), that contains a multiply bonded C-60 moiety integrated into the silica channel walls of the material, dubbed C-60-PMO. This is accomplished through the acid-catalyzed co-assembly, Of C-60(NHCH2CH2CH2Si(OEt)(3))(x) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) with a polyethyleneoxide-polylpropyleneoxide-polyethyleneoxide triblock copolymer template. The percentage Of C-60 in the final material was estimated to be a minimum of 63 vol %, but potentially as high as 91 vol %. The effects of the synthesis conditions on the mesostructure of the resulting materials are examined. In particular, we demonstrate that the C-60 is uniformly distributed throughout the entire sample by the use of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDX) analysis and an OsO4 label bonded to the C-60.