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Separation of fullerenes C 60 and C 70 using a crystallization‐based process
Author(s) -
Kwok Kui S.,
Chan Yik C.,
Ng Ka M.,
Wibowo Christianto
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.12105
Subject(s) - crystallization , fullerene , materials science , isothermal process , ternary operation , solvent , phase (matter) , chemical engineering , fractionation , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , physics , engineering , programming language , computer science
A crystallization‐based process that separates pure fullerenes C 60 and C 70 from their mixture using o‐xylene as the solvent has been developed. Isothermal solid–liquid equilibrium phase diagrams of the C 60 ‐C 70 ‐o‐xylene ternary system for a number of temperatures were first determined at 1 atm. Taking advantage of the shift in solvent‐free composition of the C 60 ‐C 70 double saturation point with temperature and based on the solid solution‐forming phase behavior between C 60 and C 70 , the flowsheet of a general crystallization process was then synthesized. It involved the fractionation of a C 60 ‐C 70 fullerene mixture into C 60 ‐rich and C 70 ‐rich solid solutions using temperature‐swing crystallization, followed by purification of the solid solutions with multistage crystallization into pure C 60 and C 70 solids. To demonstrate process feasibility, bench‐scale batch experiments were performed using a commercially available fullerene mixture that was pretreated by adsorption to remove higher fullerenes. C 60 and C 70 solids of purity higher than 99 wt % were obtained. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010