A facile route to fullerol-containing polymers

We have previously demonstrated that C60 can be covalently attached along 1,4-polybutadiene or 1,4-polyisoprene chains via a lithiation reaction. Recently, we found that an aqueous/methanol solution of hydrochloric acid is efficient for the conversion of the polymer-bound fullerenes to fullerols. The fullerenolic hydroxy functions thus introduced could open up avenues for further modification of the fullerol-containing polymers leading to a new class of polymer-modified fullerene derivatives.