Highly 13C isotope enriched azafullerene, C59N, for nuclear spin labelling

Abstract

Synthesis of highly ${}^{13}$C isotope enriched azafullerene, C${}_{59}$N embedded in C${}_{60}$ is reported. ${}^{13}$C enriched fullerenes, produced with the Krätschmer-Huffmann process, were subject to a N${}_2$ discharge that produces C${}_{59}$N with a low probability. Raman spectroscopy indicates a homogeneous ${}^{13}$C distribution. Electron spin resonance measurement (ESR) proves that the C${}_{59}$N concentration, 0.2 %, is similar as in non-enriched fullerenes. The ESR spectrum is simulated accurately with the known ${}^{14}$N and ${}^{13}$C hyperfine coupling constants. The material enables the nuclear spin-labelling of heterofullerene complexes with a potential for biological applications. It might also find applications as a building element for quantum computation.

References in corpus (1)

• Entanglement between an electron and a nuclear spin 1/2

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Controlled isotope arrangement in 13C enriched carbon nanotubes