Processes for singlet oxygen generation and fullerene oxidation
AssigneeKeio University
InventorsMamoru Senna, Hiroto Watanabe, Takahiro Kubo, Eitaro Matsui
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Abstract
Powdery fullerene is milled in an oxygen atmosphere, whereby mechanical impacts are applied to the fullerene and a carbon cage of the fullerene is dynamically distorted to the extent that an energy for conversion of atmospheric oxygen to a singlet excited state is accomplished from the distorted carbon cage to atmospheric oxygen. Singlet oxygen, i.e. an efficient oxidant in various industrial fields, is generated by solid-state reaction under stable conditions without necessity of photo-irradiation. The singlet oxygen also enables efficient oxidation of fullerene itself.
Claims5
A singlet oxygen generating process, comprising the steps of:
- applying mechanical stress to powdery fullerene in an oxygen atmosphere,
- dynamically distorting a closed carbon cage of the fullerene, and
- exciting an oxygen molecule to a singlet state through the application of mechanical stress to the powdery fullerene.
A fullerene oxidizing process, comprising the steps of:
- applying mechanical stress to powdery fullerene in an oxygen atmosphere,
- dynamically distorting a closed carbon cage of the fullerene,
- exciting an oxygen molecule to a singlet state through the application of mechanical stress to the powdery fullerene, and
- bonding the singlet oxygen to a cage-forming carbon atom of the fullerene.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.