Properties of radioactive fullerene families

Radioactive fullerenes labelled with 11C and its derivatives; such as the fullerene dimers and trimers, were produced by photonuclear and charged particle reactions and isolated in a liquid phase by radiochromatography. The 11C nuclide exists in fullerene cages to extend of about 60-70% of the total amount of 11C produced when the C60 sample was irradiated. Also, radioactive endohedral 7Be(at sign)C60, 7Be(at sign)C70 can be detected using radiochemical techniques in the final solvent. Such a 7Be atom can penetrate into the fullerene cage to produce 7Be(at sign)C60, 7Be(at sign)C70 by a recoil process of the nuclear reactions. An ab initio molecular dynamics simulation was carried out to demonstrate that a direct insertion process is really possible. Both the experimental and the theoretical results were consistent with each other. This successful production of radioactive fullerenes demonstrates the structural stability and/or flexibility of fullerene cages. (author)