Abstract
As one of the smallest carbon cages, C20 and its properties are very important. The nature of these compounds, and the development of procedures for their functionalisation for end-use in nano sized devices, have become important fields. Both Diels–Alder and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions are appropriate strategies to functionalise carbon nano tubes and C60 fullerenes. In this regard a comparison between two pathways of interaction between C20 and 2-furan nitrile oxide has been performed here to determine which reaction, Diels–Alder or 1,3-dipolar addition, is more suitable for functionalisation of C20. The results showed that 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition is faster than the Diels–Alder reaction for the functionalisation of C20 fullerene by 2-furan nitrile oxide.
