Solvent-free reactions of C60 with active methylene compounds, either with or without carbon tetrabromide, in the presence of bases under high-speed vibration milling conditions.

Solvent-free reactions of C(60) with active methylene compounds, either with or without carbon tetrabromide (CBr(4)), in the presence of a base under high-speed vibration milling (HSVM) conditions were investigated. The reaction of C(60) with diethyl bromomalonate was conducted under HSVM conditions in the presence of piperidine, triethylamine or Na(2)CO(3) to afford cyclopropane derivative. In the presence of CBr(4), methanofullerenes, and could be obtained by the direct reaction of C(60) with diethyl malonate, dimethyl malonate, ethyl acetoacetate and ethyl cyanoacetate, respectively, with the aid of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5,4,0]undec-7-ene, piperidine, triethylamine or Na(2)CO(3). More interestingly, 1,4-bisadducts and were produced by the reaction of C(60) with diethyl malonate and dimethyl malonate in the presence of piperidine, triethylamine or Na(2)CO(3) under HSVM conditions. On the other hand, dihydrofuran-fused C(60) derivatives, and were obtained from the reaction of C(60) with ethyl acetoacetate, 2,4-pentanedione and 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione with the aid of a base. Under the same conditions, less activated aryl methyl ketones such as 2-acetylpyridine, 2-acetylpyrazine and acetophenone provided monocarbonylated methanofullerene derivatives, and. Except for the Bingel reactions, all other reactions under the HSVM conditions are considered to proceed according to a single-electron-transfer mechanism.