September 2020 | Carbon 60 Facts

Assembly of C 60 Fullerene in Water and Toluene

Redispersion and Self-Assembly of C 60 Fullerene in Water and Toluene

Antonio Cid 1 2, Óscar A Moldes 2, Mário S Diniz 1, Benito Rodríguez-González 3, Juan C Mejuto 2

This work aims at assessing the influence of two different solvents, bidistilled water and toluene, on dispersions of carbon-based engineered nanomaterials, namely, fullerenes, and their self-assembly behavior…. Aggregates obtained in toluene showed a well-formed crystal structure. When using water, the obtained aggregates were amorphous and showed a no well-defined shape. Their sizes ranged between 20 and 40 nm for nanosized structures and between 0.4 and 4.8 μm for micron-sized self-aggregates.

Clean Carbon 60 is BLACK

Toluene+Carbon 60=Purple

In this experiment, the color of the C60 solution in both the toluene and xylene solvents turned purple, and it was a darker purple in the TCE (Trichloroethylene), as seen in Figure 2.

The same purple color was seen in the toluene and xylene solvents possibly due to the similar structure of these two solvents consisting of a benzene ring and methyl group.

Therefore, because the solute-solvent interactions might be different, the solvent induces different optical characteristics of the C₆₀ solutions….

Citation Information – Open Chemistry, Volume 17, Issue 1, Pages 1198-1212, eISSN 2391-5420
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/chem-2019-0117.

Clear: The true color of C-60

Drew Davidson

For starters, for the better part of two decades now, a purple color has been the standard for determining if a product contains C-60. A purple color!

C-60 turns purple when mixed with Olive oil. Just about everybody who manufactures this stuff makes that claim.

As it turns out, that purple color comes from residual toluene left over from the manufacturing process.

Yeah, you read that right. RESIDUAL TOLUENE! Or, residual amounts of other solvents such as benzene or xylene.

C-60 in olive oil causes light-dependent toxicity

C60 in olive oil causes light-dependent toxicity and does not extend lifespan in mice

Kristopher J. Grohn & Brandon S. Moyer & Danique C. Wortel & Cheyanne M. Fisher & Ellie Lumen & Anthony H. Bianchi & Kathleen Kelly & Paul S. Campbell & Douglas E. Hagrman & Roger G. Bagg & James Clement & Aaron J. Wolfe & Andrea Basso & Cristina Nicoletti & Giovanni Lai & Mauro Provinciali & Marco Malavolta & Kelsey J. Moody

We additionally find that pristine C60-OO causes no acute toxicity in a rodent model but does form toxic species that can cause significant morbidity and mortality in mice in under 2 weeks when exposed to light levels consistent with
ambient light. Intraperitoneal injections of C60-OO did not affect the lifespan of CB6F1 female mice.

Finally, we conduct a lifespan and health span study in males and females C57BL/6 J mice comparing oral treatment with pristine C60-EVOO and EVOO alone versus untreated controls. We failed to observe significant
lifespan and health span benefits of C60-EVOO or EVOO supplementation compared to untreated controls, both starting the treatment in adult or old age.

Our results call into question the biological benefit of C60-OO in aging.

Toluene Plus Carbon 60 Makes Purple

Pure, unadulterated C60 is BLACK. C60 is only ever “purple” (or “magenta”) when it has interacted with solvents such as Toluene. In other cases, it may be yellow, green, pink or brown, depending on which solvent is used (see Fig. 1). The color change in C60 in various solutions is the result of “solvation shells” which are formed between the solute (C60) and solvent when they interact. This interaction changes the electrophysical properties of the C60 molecules, causing them to aggregate (i.e., cluster) into crystal formations of various shapes and sizes. It is these crystal formations of aggregated C60 that reflect specific wavelengths of light and which result in “color”. Since the electrophysical properties of the C60 are permanently altered from having interacted with a solvent, C60 remains in an aggregated, crystallized state, even after the solvent has been vaporized off. Additionally, some solvent also remains behind, being both chemically bonded to and physically trapped within the C60 molecules. Hence, re-dissolving the solid C60 “powder” that is left behind after this process into an oil will still produce a color change. It is evidence of crystallized, aggregated C60 from solvent extraction methods.