J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129 (47), 14554 -14555, 2007. 10.1021/ja076104s S0002-7863(07)06104-5
Web Release Date: November 7, 2007

Copyright © 2007 American Chemical Society

Can H2 Inside C60 Communicate with the Outside World?

Juan López-Gejo, Angel A. Martí, Marco Ruzzi, Steffen Jockusch, Koichi Komatsu, Fumiyuki Tanabe, Yasujiro Murata, and Nicholas J. Turro*

Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan, and PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japan

njt3@columbia.edu

Received August 13, 2007

Abstract:

The quenching rate constants of singlet oxygen by C60, H2@C60, D2@C6o, H2, and D2 in solution were measured. The presence of a hydrogen (H2@C60) or deuterium (D2@C60) molecule inside the fullerene did not produce any observable effect based on triplet lifetime or EPR measurements. However, a remarkable effect was found for the 1O2 quenching by C60, H2@C60, D2@C6o, H2, and D2. Singlet oxygen was generated by photosensitization or by thermal decomposition of naphthalene endoperoxide derivatives. Comparison of the rate constants for quenching of 1O2 by H2@C60 and D2@C60 demonstrates a significant vibrational interaction between oxygen and H2 inside the fullerene. The quenching rate constant for H2 is 1 order of magnitude higher than that of D2, in agreement with the results observed for the quenching of 1O2 with H2@C60 or D2@C60.

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