The Chemical Nature of Buckminsterfullerene (C ₆₀ ) and the Characterization of a Platinum Derivative

Abstract

Little is known about the chemical nature of the recently isolated carbon clusters (C 60 , C 70 , C 84 , and so forth). One potential application of these materials is as highly dispersed supports for metal catalysts, and therefore the question of how metal atoms bind to C 60 is of interest. Reaction of C 60 with organometallic ruthenium and platinum reagents has shown that metals can be attached directly to the carbon framework. The native geometry of C 60 is almost ideally constructed for dihapto-bonding to a transition metal, and an x-ray diffraction analysis of the platinum complex [(C 6 H 5 ) 3 P] 2 Pt(η 2 -C 60 )-C 4 H 8 O revealed a structure similar to that known for [(C 6 H 5 ) 3 P] 2 Pt(η 2 -ethylene). The reactivity of C 60 is not like that of relatively electron-rich planar aromatic molecules such as benzene. The carbon-carbon double bonds of C 60 react like those of very electron-deficient arenes and alkenes