Mechanochemistry of fullerenes and related materials

Abstract

The low or lack of solubility of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene/graphite in organic solvents and water severely hampers the study of their chemical functionalizations and practical applications. Covalent and noncovalent functionalizations of fullerenes and related materials via mechanochemistry seem appealing to tackle these problems. In this review article, we provide a comprehensive coverage on the mechanochemical reactions of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphite, including dimerizations and trimerizations, nucleophilic additions, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions, Diels–Alder reactions, [2 + 1] cycloadditions of carbenes and nitrenes, radical additions, oxidations, etc. It is intriguing to find that some reactions of fullerenes can only proceed under solvent-free conditions or undergo different reaction pathways from those of the liquid-phase counterparts to generate completely different products. We also present the application of the mechanical milling technique to complex formation, nanocomposite formation and enhanced hydrogen storage of carbon-related materials.