Synthesis and characterization of polyethylene/C sub(60) fullerene structures by photoluminescence

Fullerene C sub(60) has attracted attention due to its special chemical and physical properties. However, its poor solubility and processability arise difficulties in practical applications. These problems may be surpassed by grafting C sub(60) on polymers. This study presents the synthesis of the polyethylene/maleic anhydride copolymers and C sub(60) structures and their characterization by photoluminescence. The synthesis of the material is based upon the reaction of fullerene C sub(60) with amino groups containing in the polymer chains. In the first step, some polyethylene (PE)/maleic anhydride (MA) copolymers having 1, 3, 6 and 10 wt.% anhydride groups were reacted with an amine compound. The following step consists in the reaction of C sub(60) with the amine groups. A proof that the structures synthesized contain C sub(60) is given by the photoluminescence spectra.