Synthesis and Characterization of Surface Modified Fullerene

Fullerenes were chemically functionalized by using sulphuric acid and nitric acid. The functionalization was done with two different acid ratio. The functionalized nanotubes were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photonelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Sulfonation of fullerene increased the electrical conductivity of fullerenes up to 0.027 S/cm. TEM micrographs showed that sulfonation improves the dispersion of fullerene in water. Zeta potential measurements also proved this result.