Fullerene: The "Nano Prince" Creates Novel Materials

Carbon Nanotechnology Progress Report

Sinochem Xinxun Fullerene has unusual features, and its representative member C60 is also known as the "Nano Prince." Because fullerene has a higher hardness than diamonds, its tenacity is 100 times that of steel, its electrical conductivity exceeds that of copper and its weight is only one-sixth that of copper, making it an irreplaceable material for many high-tech applications. In the field of metal-free wires, building skeletons, ** vests, car shells and other areas will also appear.

Extraordinary performance brings legendary growth

According to BCC, the US market research company, the market value of global fullerenes was US$92 million in 2006. Since then, snowball growth has been achieved at an average annual rate of 70%, and will reach US$1.31 billion by 2011. It is possible that by 2016, More than $4.7 billion in size.

As an authoritative expert in the field, Wang Chunru, a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stated: “A lot of extraordinary performance has caused fullerenes to have a profound impact on the fields of chemistry, physics, materials, medicine, and microelectronics, and they have shown attractive applications. prospect."

In industrial applications, fullerene additives can extend the life of lubricating oils by 30%. The composite system formed by fullerenes and alkali metals is an excellent high-temperature superconducting material. Its superconducting critical temperature is as high as 46K, and its photoconductivity is based on C60. Photoelectric switches and optical glass have been successfully developed; photoelectric conversion efficiency of organic solar cells with fullerene as the key material has reached 6.5%. In addition, the C60 can also be applied in depth in the fields of semiconductors, catalysts, and battery materials.

In life sciences, fullerenes-based magnetic resonance contrast agents and novel agents for treating cancer are rapidly developing. C60 is a very strong antioxidant. People have developed fullerenes that can be used in skin care products to bring happiness to human skin aging.

Our country wins the right to speak internationally

Wang Chunru told reporters: “In the field of theoretical research, functional research, structural characterization, and formation mechanism of fullerenes and metal fullerenes, Chinese scientists have achieved a number of innovations that have a major impact internationally. Mastered the right to speak."

The Fullerene Laboratories invested by the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, invests 5 million yuan is the best fullerene research base in the country. The laboratory for the preparation of fullerenes and in-house metal fullerenes that was jointly developed with Shenyang Keyou Co., Ltd. has been operating smoothly for 6 years and has been promoted to many domestic universities. Together with Southwestern University of Science and Technology and China Black Group's Carbon Black Institute, the fullerene industrial production facility can produce 100 kg of C60 and 10 kg of C70 per year, breaking the monopoly of manufacturing technology for fullerene combustion in foreign countries. Lelerene scientific research and applications provide sufficient materials and technologies.

At present, scientists have basically defined the formation mechanism of fullerenes and synthesized and separated fullerenes as small as C20 and as large as C240. In 2004, Prof. Xie Suyuan of Xiamen University cooperated with the researcher of Wang Chunru and adopted the method of introducing chlorine atoms during the fullerene production process. For the first time, the active C50 was stabilized with chlorine atoms, becoming an important breakthrough in this field. Zhejiang University cooperated with the University of California in the United States and successfully synthesized the fullerene C90 with the smallest carbon nanotube structure in the world, which also caused widespread concern in the international scientific community.

Wang Chunru said that before 2008, the international fullerenes market was mainly controlled by Japan, the United States, the EU countries, and Russia, and China’s market share was basically zero. By 2009, with the completion of the coal combustion fullerene synthesis project, the production cost of China's ton-grade fullerenes has been at a relatively low level. He affirmed: "The development goal of the domestic industry is to occupy 35% of the global market in recent years. By then, China is expected to become the leader in the international market."

Reduce costs and strive to commercialize

Wang Chunru introduced: "Fullerenes have been used in electronic devices, functional plastics, electrolytes, and pharmaceuticals. Practical applications for fullerene products, such as non-metallic cables and non-metal circuit boards, will soon take place. However, these applications have not been achieved. The degree of commercialization still needs to solve many problems before it is commercialized."

Instability is a common problem in all fullerenes applications. However, scientists have found that when metal atoms participate in or modify the carbon cage surface, unstable fullerenes can also stabilize, which opens up new directions for research in this field.

The most important thing is that the current market price of C60 fullerene per gram is US$20, Japan’s 20, Germany’s 30, South Korea’s 20, and China’s 320, and the C70’s price is several times more. Wang Chunru emphasized: "Fullerene cannot be competitive until production costs are substantially reduced." As a result, the development of low-cost raw materials and the continuous and large-scale production of fullerenes technology and devices are still the focus of global research and development. .