Holey fullerenes! a bis-lactone derivative of [70]fullerene with an eleven-atom orifice

Abstract

C₇₀Ph₈ spontaneously oxidises in air to form a bis-lactone C₇₀Ph₈O₄, having an eleven-membered hole in the fullerene cage; the reaction is believed to proceed via insertion of oxygen into 5,6 bonds followed by oxidative cleavage of the adjacent double bond, a process which has a precedent in the spontaneous oxidation of vinyl ethers to esters.