Birch reduction of C60—a new appraisal

Abstract

Contrary to a previous report that Birch reduction of C₆₀ affords C₆₀H₃₆ as the principal product, laser desorption-laser photoionisation time-of-flight (L²TOF), laser desorption Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR), and liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry (LSIMS) show collectively that a mixture of polyhydrofullerenes, containing C₆₀H₁₈ through to C₆₀H₃₆ with a skewed distribution centred on C₆₀H₃₂ is formed, the discrepancy in results arising from the thermal lability of this mixture of polyhydrofullerenes when subjected to the elevated temperatures (>250 °C) required for mass spectroscopic studies using direct-insertion heated probes.