Photoaddition of N-substituted piperazines to C60: an efficient approach to the synthesis of water-soluble fullerene derivatives

Chemistry. 2006 Jul 17;12(21):5569-77. doi: 10.1002/chem.200501481.

Abstract

An oxidative radical photoaddition of mono N-substituted piperazines to [60]fullerene was systematically investigated. Reactions of C60 with piperazines bearing bulky electron-withdrawing groups (2-pyridyl, 2-pyrimidinyl) were found to be the most selective and yielded C60(amine)4O as major products along with small amounts of C60(amine)2. In contrast, interactions of fullerene with N-methylpiperazine and N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)piperazine were found to have low selectivity due to different side reactions. Tetraaminofullerene derivative C60(N-(2-pyridyl)piperazine)4O was found to react readily with organic and inorganic acids to yield highly water-soluble salts (solubility approximately 150 mg mL(-1)). In contrast, C60(N-(2-pyrimidinyl)piperazine)4O undergoes hydrolysis under the same conditions and results in a complex mixture of compounds with an average composition of C60(N-(2-pyrimidinyl)piperazine)2(OH)2O. Radical photoaddition of N-(2-pyridyl)piperazine to fullerene derivatives can be used as a facile route for their transformation into water-soluble compounds. Two model fullerene cycloadducts (a methanofullerene and a pyrrolidinofullerene) were easily converted into mixtures of regioisomers of A=C60(N-(2-pyridyl)piperazine)4O (A=cyclic addend) that give highly water-soluble salts under acid treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amines / chemical synthesis
  • Amines / chemistry
  • Fullerenes / chemistry*
  • Morpholines / chemistry
  • Piperazines / chemical synthesis
  • Piperazines / chemistry*
  • Solubility
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Water / chemistry

Substances

  • Amines
  • Fullerenes
  • Morpholines
  • Piperazines
  • Water
  • morpholine
  • 1-methylpiperazine
  • fullerene C60