Testing the resistance of fullerenes to chemothermal oxidation used to isolate soots from environmental samples

Flores-Cervantes, D Xanat; Bucheli, Thomas D.

Testing the resistance of fullerenes to chemothermal oxidation used to isolate soots from environmental samples

2011

Flores-Cervantes, D Xanat | Bucheli, Thomas D.

We tested the resistance of five different fullerenes (C₆₀, C₇₀, C₇₆/₇₈ mix, and C₈₄) to chemothermal oxidation at 375 °C (CTO-375), a method that has been used and tested for quantifying black carbon (BC) and CNTs in soils and sediments. C₆₀ survived CTO-375 the most (50%), while C₇₀ was the fullerene with the lowest survival rate (<1%). Standard additions of C₆₀ to soil and sediment reference materials yielded recoveries between 18 and 36%. Although lower than recoveries previously observed for soot and CNTs, these results demonstrate the capability of CTO-375 to partially isolate C₆₀ from solid environmental matrices. Standard additions of C₇₀, C₇₆/₇₈, and C₈₄ yielded slightly higher survival rates when added to soil and sediment than in their pure form. These results indicate that the mineral matrices of these samples probably had a catalytic effect towards C₆₀ and a protective effect towards C₇₀, C₇₆/₇₈, and C₈₄ during CTO-375.

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