Date of Award

2001

Degree Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

R. Panzica

Abstract

In the past few years, fullerenes have been of immense interest because of their distinct properties and ability to form various physical and chemical derivatives in aqueous and nonaqueous environments. The development of new applications for fullerenes in science and technology, especially in medicine and materials, is an important aspect of fullerene chemistry. The separation techniques of capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to investigate the icosahedral, carbon structures, called fullerenes. The C60 and/or C70 fullerenes were examined as individual molecules, encapsulated micelles, and non-aqueous aggregates. The fullerenes, C60 and C70, were identified by the use of HPLC coupled with the on-line detection of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Linearity and reproducibility indicated that HPLC-FTIR was a useful technique for the identification and quantitation of C60 and C70 fullerenes. A procedure was developed for the analysis of an aqueous solution of fullerenes with a surfactant. Although fullerenes are insoluble in water, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was used to dissolve successfully C60 and C70 in a phosphate buffer. The C60 and C70 fullerenes encapsulated by SDS were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis and detected by on-line ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) diode array detection. Further, C60/SDS was demonstrated as a novel pseudostationary phase for micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). In addition, nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) with on-line UV-VIS diode array detection was used for the preliminary investigation of C70 aggregates in a nonaqueous environment. The electrophoretic mobilities of the aggregates were monitored and compared to particle size distribution. Furthermore, the C70 aggregates behave as micelle like structures. Therefore these C70 aggregates have potential for use as a novel pseudostationary phase for NACE.

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