FACILE CYCLOADDITION OF TRANSITION METAL OXIDES ONTO THE SIDEWALL OF BORON-DOPED FULLERENE

The viability of facile oxidation and cycloaddition of fullerene C60 with ruthenium tetraoxide (RuO4) has been confirmed by means of density functional theory calculations. Owing to the powerful capability of RuO4 as an oxidant, the addition process has been found to occur readily in the absence of organic base as a catalyst, which is in remarkable contrast to the base-catalyzed osmylation of C60 with osmium tetraoxide (OsO4). Significantly, we have found that boron can be employed as an effective promoter for enhancing the cycloaddition and complexation of transition metal oxides, e.g. RuO4 and OsO4, with C60, in which the base is not needed at all. Our results suggest that boron doping into the lattice of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes would provide a well-defined approach for anchoring transition metal oxides.