HYDROSOL OF C70 FULLERENE: SYNTHESIS AND STABILITY IN ELECTROLYTIC SOLUTIONS

Abstract

This article is devoted to the synthesis and characterization of the hydrosol of C₇₀ of the son/nC₇₀ type and to its coagulation by sodium chloride and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). At C₇₀ concentration of 3.3×10^–6 M, the electrokinetic potential is ζ= –40 ± 4 mV, the particle size expressed as Zeta-average is 97±3 nm; at higher C₇₀ concentrations, 1.7×10^–5 and 6.9×10^–5 M, the size stays the same: 99 – 100 nm. The critical concentration of coagulation (CCC) values, were determined using the diameter increasing rate (DIR) on NaCl concentration. The CCCs are concentration-dependent: 250, 145, and 130 mM at C₇₀ concentrations 3.3×10^–6, 1.7×10^–5, and 6.9×10^–5 M, respectively. The CCC for the CTAB surfactant is much lower, about 5×10^–3 mM. At 0.02 mM CTAB, however, the overcharging up to ζ = + 40 mV and stabilization of the colloidal particles take place. Interpretation of the hydrosol coagulation by NaCl using the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek theory makes it possible to determine the Hamaker constant of the C₇₀–C₇₀ interaction in vacuum, if only electrostatic repulsion and molecular attraction are taking into account: A_FF ≈ 7×10^–20 J. On the other hand, if we use the value A_FF = (16.0–16.6)×10^–20 J, obtained earlier in the study of organosols, then the data for hydrosols can be explained only by the introduction of an additional type of interactions. Following the terms of Churaev and Derjaguin, one should take into account the structural contribution to the interaction energy, which stabilizes the hydrosol.