Study of nanoscale photopolymerized fullerene clusters in solution droplets using an ultrasonic nebulizer unit

In a designed and developed ultrasonic nebulizer system for obtaining macroscopic-quantity photopolymerized fullerene (C ₆₀) clusters, a C ₆₀ solution was vaporized to several micro-sized droplets in vacuum, resulting in the formation of C ₆₀ aggregates by evaporating the solvent (toluene). The system was invented to produce nanoscalr e e photopolymeriz ed carbon clusters through the irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) light on the C ₆₀ aggregates in vacuum. The products, photopolymerized C ₆₀ clusters obtained from the system using UV-visible (UV-Vis) absorption and high-performance (or high-pressure) liquid chromatography (HPLC) spectra, were characterized. Compared with the non-irradiating C ₆₀ solution, the UV-Vis absorption spectrum of the irradiated C ₆₀ solution was drastically decreased, especially at λ = 335 nm and in the visible region from λ = 450∼650 nm. As such, the UV-Vis absorption spectra provide information about the polymerization of C ₆₀ molecules. These photopolymerized C ₆₀ clusters can be detected as having a heavy molecular mass order through the HPLC system, and the C ₆₀ and photopolymerized C ₆₀ cluster can be extracted from the trapped solution on the molecular mass. Although there is a possibility that the products include various forms of C ₆₀ clusters, the results suggest that the products obtained from the system using a vaporizer establish a new method of obtaining macroscopic-quantity C ₆₀ clusters.