Reductive Decarbonylation of a Cage-Opened C60 Derivative
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Updated: Oct 12, 2025

Isolating Free Carbenes, their Mixed Dimers and Organic Radicals
Published on: April 19, 2019
Yoshifumi Hashikawa1, Shumpei Sadai1, Yasujiro Murata1
1Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
Abstract:
The decarbonylation of a cage-opened C60 derivative was examined by employing single-electron reductants. During the reaction, an H2O molecule was spontaneously encapsulated inside the cage (up to 78%) through the thus-formed 14-membered-ring orifice even though the H2O encapsulation had long been considered to require an orifice consisting of at least 16 atoms. The crystallographic analysis revealed an orifice shape closer to a circle which significantly contributes to the decreased activation barrier for the H2O encapsulation.
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