Unexpected Formation of Metallofulleroids from Multicomponent Reactions, with Crystallographic and Computational Studies of the Cluster Motion
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Updated: Oct 19, 2025
Author Spotlight: Accelerating Discovery in Microporous Material Chemistry
Published on: October 6, 2023
Yanbang Li1, Thomas J Emge1, Antonio Moreno-Vicente2
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 123 Bevier Rd, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
Abstract:
New multicomponent reactions involving an isocyanide, terminal or internal alkynes, and endohedral metallofullerene (EMF) Lu3 N@C80 yield metallofulleroids which are characterized by mass-spectrometry, HPLC, and multiple 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Single crystal studies revealed one ketenimine metallofulleroid has ordered Lu3 N cluster which is unusual for EMF monoadducts. Computational analysis, based on crystallographic data, confirm that the endohedral cluster motion is controlled by the position of the exohedral organic appendants. Our findings provide a new functionalization reaction for EMFs, and a potential facile approach to freeze the endohedral cluster motion at relatively high temperatures.
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