Stoichiometric synthesis of fullerene compounds with lithium and sodium and analysis of their IR and EPR spectra

Abstract

A modified method is proposed for preparing fullerene compounds with alkali metals in a solution. The compounds synthesized have the general formula Me _n C₆₀(THF)_x, where Me = Li or Na; n=1–4, 6, 8, or 12; and THF = tetrahydrofuran. The use of preliminarily synthesized additives MeC₁₀H₈ makes it possible to prepare fullerene compounds with an exact stoichiometric ratio between C ⁿ⁻₆₀ and Me ⁺. The IR and EPR spectra of the compounds prepared are analyzed and compared with the spectra of their analogs available in the literature. The intramolecular modes T _u (1)-T _u (4) for the C ⁿ⁻₆₀ anion are assigned. The splitting of the T _u (1) mode into a doublet at room temperature for Me _n C₆₀(THF)_x (n=1, 2, 4) compounds indicates that the fullerene anion has a distorted structure. An increase in the intensity of the T _u (2) mode, a noticeable shift of the T _u (4) mode toward the long-wavelength range, and an anomalous increase in the intensity of the latter mode for the Li₃C₆₀(THF)_x complex suggest that, in the fullerene anion, the coupling of vibrational modes occurs through the charge-phonon mechanism. The measured EPR spectra of lithium-and sodium-containing fullerene compounds are characteristic of C ⁻₆₀ anions. The g factors for these compounds are almost identical and do not depend on temperature. The g factor for the C ⁿ⁻₆₀ anion depends on the nature of the metal and differs from the g factor for the C ⁻₆₀ anion.