Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Reactions of [60]Fullerene with Triethylamine

Fullerene molecules undergo efficient photochemical reactions with tertiary amines to form complex mixtures of addition products. The separation and identification of several monoadducts from photochemical reactions of C 60 with triethylamine under different experimental conditions are reported. According to molecular spectroscopic results, the photoaddition of triethylamine to C 60 is initiated via photoinduced electron transfer between the excited singlet C 60 and the amine, similar to photochemical reactions of conventional aromatic molecules with tertiary amines. However, the reaction products with fullerene are completely different. Mechanistic implications of the results are discussed.