Analytical potential of fullerene as adsorbent for organic and organometallic compounds from aqueous solutions

J Chromatogr A. 2000 Feb 11;869(1-2):101-10. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(99)01050-x.

Abstract

In this work, the analytical potential of C60 fullerene as a sorbent for organic and organometallic compounds from aqueous solutions was studied for the first time. Fullerene adsorbs many types of organic substances (e.g., N-methylcarbamates, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, amines) with efficiencies that depend on the nature of the compound concerned and never exceed 60%. Conventional sorbents such as XAD-2 or polyurethane foam are more efficient than C60 for this purpose. Organometallic compounds (viz. metalocenes and organoleads) are quantitatively adsorbed on C60 via the formation of neutral complexes or chelates; the adsorption constant is dramatically increased by the use of classical reagents such as pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate or diethyldithiocarbamate. A complementary comparative study on the adsorption of organometallic complexes on RP-C18 and silica gel 100, among others, showed C60 to be superior as sorbent. All experiments in this work were carried out by using continuous flow configurations and gas chromatography-atomic absorption spectrometry techniques.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Carbon / chemistry*
  • Fullerenes*
  • Organic Chemicals / chemistry*
  • Organometallic Compounds / chemistry*
  • Solutions
  • Water

Substances

  • Fullerenes
  • Organic Chemicals
  • Organometallic Compounds
  • Solutions
  • Water
  • Carbon
  • fullerene C60