Affinity of C-60 fullerenes with water

J Labille , J Brant , Frédéric Villiéras , M Pelletier (1) , A Thill , A Masion , M Wiesner , Jérôme Rose (2) , J.Y. Bottero (2)

1 LIEC - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux
2 CEREGE - Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement

In this work, we have studied the affinity of pure C-60 fullerenes with water. Although C-60 have always been known as hydrophobic particles, we show that this characteristic does not remain when contact between C-60 and H2O is forced by mechanical stirring. Light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy observations revealed the presence of C-60 aggregates remaining stable in water after stirring, with a large nanometric size range. Water adsorption/desorption isotherms, confirmed the hydrophilic character of these nano-clusters, resulting form hydration of the initial hydrophobic C-60.

Domaines: Environnement et Société; Interfaces continentales, environnement

J Labille, J Brant, Frédéric Villiéras, M Pelletier, A Thill, et al.. Affinity of C-60 fullerenes with water. Fullerenes, Nanotubes and Carbon Nanostructures, 2006, 14 (2-3), pp.307-314. ⟨10.1080/15363830600665250⟩. ⟨hal-01519546⟩