New Vistas in Fullerene Chemistry: Organosulfur Compounds Expand the Performance Of Carbon Nanomaterials

Introducing organosulfur moieties into EMFs is a successful approach for the elucidation of electron transfer behavior of EMFs because the introduced sulfur atoms promote active redox properties in the fullerene molecules. Complexation of La@C₈₂ and unsaturated thiacrown ether, for instance, shows remarkable host–guest interaction and electron transfer to the fullerene. In contrast to these intermolecular electron-accepting properties of EMFs, intramolecular properties were revealed through studies of covalently bonded La₂@C₈₀ or La@C₈₂ and π-extended tetrathiafulvalene (exTTF) dyads. These first milestones on the electron transfer behavior have inspired us to ascertain and then expand our knowledge of the unique characteristics of EMFs. These findings suggest potential applications of EMFs based on their unique molecular structure and electronic and magnetic properties as novel carbon nanomaterials.