Dissolving Metal Reductions of Fullerenes

Treatment of fullerenes with reducing metals and a proton source leads to the formation of hydrogenated fullerenes (C 60 H n and C 70 H n ). The reaction of C 60 with a variety of metals was investigated, using metals that span a broad range of reducing power, from tin ( E ° = −0.14 V) to magnesium ( E ° = −2.36 V). We report useful synthetic routes to a number of reduced fullerenes, including C 60 H 2, C 60 H 4, and C 60 H 6, and we have determined that, despite the huge number of isomers that are possible, a small number are actually formed in these cases. For example, only two isomers of C 60 H 6 are obtained in the Zn(Cu) reduction of C 60, in a 6:1 ratio. Three isomers of C 70 H 10 are produced, in ratios that are dependent on reaction time.