Oxidative cage opening in the C70 fullerene facilitated by preceding trifluoromethylation

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2024 Mar 6;26(10):8038-8042. doi: 10.1039/d3cp05480b.

Abstract

Two novel derivatives of the C70 fullerene with 9- and 10-membered cage openings were obtained by means of oxidation and decarbonylation of C70(CF3)8. The major product, C70(O)(CF3)8O2, features a cleaved C-C bond transformed into two carbonyl functions plus an ether bridge. The second product, C69O(CF3)8O, has one of the carbonyls replaced with another ether bridge. We provide a DFT analysis of the possible formation pathways to give the oxidized compounds under the action of pyridine N-oxide.