Carbon cages that encapsulate clusters attract wide attention for use in biomedicine, photovoltaics, and materials applications. In particular, trimetallic nitride endohedral fullerenes, such as Sc3N@C80, are an intensively investigated metallofullerene class, currently synthesized by gas-phase methods. However, very limited experimental insight into how clusterfullerenes may self-assemble by vaporization of element-doped graphite has been achieved to date. We have recently found that charge transfer from encapsulated metal to the cage is an important factor that directs bottom-up formation of mono-metallofullerenes. Here, we experimentally examine nanocarbon reactions that result in formation of Sc-based clusterfullerenes by use of a pulsed laser cluster source and analyzed by high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Work supported by the FSU Research Foundation, NSF Division of Materials Research through DMR-11-57490, Florida State University, and the State of Florida.

Gas-phase synthesis of clusterfullerenes

251st National Meeting (2016)

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