Synthesis of new carbon nanomolecule: C141

A new [70]fullerene dimer consisting of 141 carbon atoms was first synthesized by a new method with neutron irradiation of [70]fullerene. The results of separation and isolation with two-step HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) show that this odd-numbered fullerene dimer is stable in air. Laser induced dissociation of C141 mainly yields fragmental species C70 and C71. The UV-vis spectrum of C141 shows that its vis feature is diminished as compared to that of C70. Experiments indicate that this new method for synthesis of fullerene dimers with neutron irradiation has a high selectivity for formation of C2n- X -C2n type carbon nanomolecules.