Mass spectral evidence of alkali metal insertion into C60-cyclooctatetraene complexes: M+@C60-C8H 8 *3-

C60 can be reduced to its trianion anion radical in hexamethylphosphoramide with potassium or cesium metal. The addition of water to these solutions, followed by toluene extraction, yields materials that exhibit the expected mass spectral peaks for the Birch reduction products of C 60 *3- (C60Hn). However, when cyclooctatetraene (COT) is present in the solution, the mass spectral signature for the Birch reduction products of M+@C60-COT*3- and C60-COT*3- are also found. The trianion radical of C60 reacts with COT in HMPA to yield a [2 + 2] cycloaddition product, and subsequent ring opening provides a passageway for the Cs+ or K+ counterion to the interior of the fullerene. Analogous results are not observed when the smaller metals (Na and Li) are used as the reducing agents. Only the larger alkali metal cations form tight ion pairs with the trianion of C60-COT. The tight ion association is necessary to bring the cation into a sufficiently close proximity to the trianion for the cation to proceed to the interior.