Abstract Senkan CTS-9508454 The PI proposes to explore a new flow reactor process aimed at the synthesis of fullerenes and other related materials. This process will exploit the highly exoergic reactions between halogenated carbons such as CCl4, C6Cl6 (perchlorobenzene) and C10Cl8 (perchloro-naphthalene) and the Group IA and IIA metals. The PI claims that the innovative aspect of the proposed research lies in the use of completely halogenated starting materials, thus avoiding hydrogen in the feedstocks and the supposedly deleterious effects of hydrogen on the yields of fullerenes and fullerene derivatives. Because simple salts such as MgCl2 and NaCl are produced as by-products, purification of the resulting fullerenes should be relatively simple. Furthermore, since the flow reactor process is envisioned as being continuous, scale-up should be straight forward and easy. The PI has requested funding for 12 months to explore the technical feasibility of the proposed process.
