Scientists finally created the impossible 48 atoms carbon ring

Researchers synthesized a “cycle [48] Stable Carbon ” – A single ring of 48 carbon atoms that can first be studied in a solution at room temperature.

In a new study led by the Department of Chemistry at Oxford University, chemicals demonstrated the synthesis of a cyclocarbon that is sufficiently stable for spectroscopic characterization in ambient temperature solution.

O, only the second example of a new type of carbon molecular alotropy that can be studied under normal laboratory conditions, was published on 14 August in Science magazine.

This is a rare achievement. The only previous example of synthesis of a new type of carbon molecular alotropy that can be studied under normal conditions was the synthesis of Fulerenos, achieved in 1990 by a team of Max Planck Institute researchers, led by the German physicist Wolfgang Krätschmer.

At the time, the synthesis of the new solid carbon form₆₀ was presented in a published in the magazine Nature.

In the new study, the molecule cycle [48] carbon was synthesized as a [4]Catenano, that is, with ring C₄₈ “Stuck” through three other macrocycles. These macrocycles stuck increase the stability of C₄₈ by preventing access to protected cyclocarbon.

Previously, composite molecular rings purely by carbon atoms had only been studiedthe gas phase or very low temperatures (4 to 10 k). Now the team synthesized a cyclocarbon that is stable in a solution at 20 ° C, with a 92-hour half-life.

The Cyclocarbon Catenan was characterized through NMR techniques, mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy and UV-Visible.

Observing a single intense NMR resonance of ¹³C for all 48 carbon atoms indicates that all carbons are in equivalent environments, which provides solid evidence for the structure of the Celocalocarbon Catenan.

“Get stable cyclocarbones in a bottle Under environmental conditions is a fundamental step in studying its reactivity and properties under normal laboratory conditions, ”he says Yueze Gaoresearcher at Oxford University and first author of the study at one from the University.

“This achievement marks the culminate in a long effort To synthesize Cyclocarbon cateins, based on the hope that they could be stable enough to study at room temperature, ”he concludes Harry Andersen Professor at Oxford University and main author of the study.