Buckminsterfullerene - Applications

Applications

The C₆₀ molecule can also bind large numbers of hydrogen atoms (up to one hydrogen for each carbon) without disrupting the structure. This property suggests that buckyballs may be an efficient medium to make hydrogen fuel more accessible to the general economy. A peer-reviewed report published by the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2005 proposes that a modified form of buckminsterfullerene called organometallic buckyballs (OBBs) may be a vehicle for "high density, room temperature, ambient pressure storage of hydrogen". These OBBs are created by binding atoms of a transition metal (TM) to C₆₀ or C₄₈B₁₂ and then binding many hydrogen atoms to this TM atom, dispersing them evenly throughout the inside of the organometallic buckyball. The study found that the theoretical amount of H₂ that can be retrieved from the OBB at ambient pressure approaches 9 wt %, a mass fraction that has been designated as optimal for hydrogen fuel by the U.S. Department of Energy.

In the medical field, elements such as helium (that can be detected in minute quantities) can be used as chemical tracers in impregnated buckyballs. Buckminsterfullerene could also inhibit the HIV virus. In particular, C₆₀ inhibits a key enzyme in the human immunodeficiency virus known as HIV-1 protease; this could inhibit reproduction of the HIV virus in immune cells.

The optical absorption properties of C₆₀ match solar spectrum that favors C₆₀-based films for photovoltaic applications. Conversion efficiencies up to 5.7% have been reported in C₆₀-polymer cells.