Hot-atom incorporation of tritium atoms into fullerenes

✍ Scribed by H.A. Jiménez-Vázquez; R.J. Cross; M. Saunders; R.J. Poreda

• Book ID: 103032504
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 379 KB
• Volume: 229
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2614
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2614(94)01028-5

✦ Synopsis

We have used classical hot-atom chemistry to put tritium atoms inside fullerene molecules. The tritium is generated in a nuclear reactor with the reaction 6Li(n, a)3H. The hot tritium atom slows down and can end up being thermalized inside a fullerene where it is trapped. The irradiated sample is dissolved, chromatographed, and counted in a scintillation counter, showing a small tritium activity. After some time, the sample is analyzed with a sensitive mass spectrometer, and 3He was found on heating above 400°C showing that the tritium had decayed leaving the 3He trapped inside the fullerene.