Cluster-based redox activity in Endohedral Metallofullerenes:

• Main Author: Samoylova, Nataliya
• Other Authors: Technische Universität Dresden, Fakultät Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden 2017
• Subjects: Fullerene; Fullerenes; ddc:540; rvk:VE 8007; Electrochemistry; EPR
• Online Access: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-230132; http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-230132; http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/23013/Thesis_Samoylova.pdf

Endohedral fullerenes are closed carbon shells encapsulating molecular or ionic species in their inner space. Obtained for the first time in 1985, endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) remain in focus of research for many years with a broad variety of metal atoms, endohedral cluster and cage sizes being reported. Electrochemical studies of endohedral metallofullerenes are of particular interest because of the more complex redox behavior in comparison to empty fullerenes. The EMF molecules can be considered as a combinations of positively charged cluster and negatively charged carbon shell “ligand”, and both constituents can be redox active. A cage-based electrochemical activity is more common, in particular, the most abundant nitride clusterfullerenes generally have redox-active cages. Cluster-based electrochemical activity is less common and can be revealed via unexpected redox behavior (e.g., shifted potential when compared to analogous molecules, potential metal dependence) and with the use of spectroscopic methods. Here we report electrochemical and EPR studies of three EMF families: (i) M2@C82-C3v and M2@C82-Cs dimetallofullerenes with a covalent bonding between two metal atoms, (ii) M2@C80(CH2Ph) dimetallofullerene derivatives with single-occupied metal-bonding orbital, and (iii) M2TiC@C80 EMFs with endohedral Ti(IV) (M is either Sc or Y or a lanthanide). For the first two families, the metal-metal bonding orbital has been found to be redox active: in M2@C82, the double-occupied M-M bonding orbital is involved in the first oxidation process, while in M2@C80(CH2Ph) the unoccupied component of single-occupied metal-bonding orbital acts as the LUMO, accepting one electron during the first reduction step. Thus, single electron transfer reactions in both cases lead to the changes in the magnetic properties of EMFs, which is especially well revealed by EPR spectroscopy. For the series of M2TiC@C80 EMFs, the first reduction predominantly occurs on internal Ti atom and can be described as TiIV/TiIII redox process. Due to the variation of the size of the Ti ion in different oxidation states, reduction changes the inner strain of the cluster, leading to a large variability of the TiIV/TiIII reduction potential in dependence on the size of the formally inert lanthanide metal in M2TiC@C80.