Fullerenes Decorated with Poly(vinylidene fluoride)
(2597–2603) Macromolecules 44 #8 (2011)
Vukieviand Beuermann of the University of Potsdam,, Germany, synthesized fullerenes decorated with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in a three-step procedure:  Iodine transfer polymerization of vinylidene fluoride with C6F12I2 as the chain transfer agent was carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide to synthesize iodine-terminated PVDF, which was subsequently transformed to azide-terminated polymer.  Finally, azide-terminated PVDF chains were attached to a fullerene core under microwave irradiation at 160 °C in 1.5 h.  On average, 4−5 PVDF chains are attached to one C60 moiety. FT-IR spectra and DSC measurements indicate that the polymer end groups strongly affect the crystallinity of the material. For PVDF with azide end groups and PVDF attached to fullerenes the fraction of the β polymorph is dominant while α polymorphs are almost absent.  (RDC 5/27/2011)