Synthesis and structure of ruthenium-fullerides

We report a simple and original procedure for preparing Ru-C 60 polymeric chains, which spontaneously self-assemble as polymeric spherical particles. The size of the particles can be controlled by the choice of the solvent used during the reaction. In addition, these Ru-C 60 polymeric spheres can be surface decorated with Ru nanoparticles using the same mild reaction conditions by changing the Ru/C 60 ratio. Several techniques (TEM in high resolution, scanning and electron tomography modes, IR, NMR, Raman, WAXS, EXAFS and XPS) together with theoretical calculations allowed us to have an insight into the structure of these Ru-C 60 species. We report a simple and original procedure for preparing Ru-C 60 polymeric chains, which spontaneously self-assemble as polymeric spherical particles, and can be surface decorated with Ru nanoparticles.