1. University of Texas at El Paso
DigitalCommons@UTEP
COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012 COURI Symposium Abstracts
Summer 7-9-2012
Praseodymium Nitride Endohedral
Metallofullerene as Donor in Photovoltaic Cells
Luis F. Gardea
Derpartment of Chemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, luisfg95@live.com
Manuel N. Chaur
Chemistry Department, Universidad del Valle, manuel.chaur@correounivalle.edu.co
Luis Echegoyen
Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, echegoyen@utep.edu
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Funding Source:
American Chemical Society
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Recommended Citation
Gardea, Luis F.; Chaur, Manuel N.; and Echegoyen, Luis, "Praseodymium Nitride Endohedral Metallofullerene as Donor in
Photovoltaic Cells" (2012). COURI Symposium Abstracts, Summer 2012. Paper 18.
http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/couri_abstracts_sum12/18

2. Praseodymium Nitride Endohedral Metallofullerene as Donor in
Photovoltaic Cells
Luis F. Gardea, Manuel N. Chaur, and Luis Echegoyen
Trimetallic nitride template endohedral metallofullerenes (TNT EMFs) have been found to have structures
and electronic properties that make them suitable for fields like molecular electronics. The particular
compounds synthesized were the family of TNT EMFs Pr3N@C2n due to the relatively high yield of
Pr3N@C88 and even more due to its low first oxidation potential (0.06 V) and therefore this compound has
the ability to act as a capable electron donor in a multilayer organic photovoltaic cell. The compound was
synthesized through the use of a Kratschmer-Huffman arc reactor. A mixture of Praseodymium Oxide and
graphite with a ratio of 3:7 respectively was made and then the powder was packed into graphite rods that
were then arced inside the reactor. After it was arced, the soot that is created as a product of the arcing was
dissolved in carbon disulfide and characterized by mass spectroscopy. The obtained metallofullerenes were
isolated by HPLC with a one-stage separation, and then again the purified solution was passed under a two-
stage HPLC separation.
This article is available at DigitalCommons@UTEP: http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/couri_abstracts_sum12/18