Formation of C60 by pyrolysis of naphthalene

THE formation of bulk quantities of C60 by arc discharge between carbon electrodes in an atmosphere of helium1 or argon2,3 has led to an explosion in fullerene research. Methods for improving the rate of fullerene production have included increasing the reactor size and the diameter of the carbon rods, and varying the rate of rod consumption and helium pressure4. Systems using several rods have also been employed5,6. The ideal method, however, would involve a continuous process that does not require rod replacement. Approaches using carbon granules6 and powders7 have been reported, as well as combustion methods using hydrocarbons8,9. Here we report the formation of C60 and C70 by pyrolysis of naphthalene at ∼1,000 °C. C60 and C70 are formed by the 'patching together' of six and seven naphthalene molecules respectively, as demonstrated by mass-spectrometric analysis of intermediate products. These results point to a continuous method of fullerene formation, and also show that closed fullerene cages can be built from well defined aromatic fragments.