Solubility Characteristics of PCBM and C60

Empirical data indicate that several good solvents for C60 and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) have substantial polar and hydrogen-bonding components, which are not intrinsic to the structure of the C60 and PCBM molecules themselves. Functional solubility parameter (FSP) and convex solubility parameter (CSP) computations are performed on C60 and PCBM using solubility data available in the literature. The CSP and FSP results are compared to previously reported Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs) and to the parameters calculated using additive functional group contribution methods. The CSP and FSP methods confirm the anomalously large polar and hydrogen-bonding parameters, δP and δH, obtained experimentally for C60 and PCBM. This behavior, which is quite irregular given the structure of the molecules, is due to the fact that several good solvents have high δP and δH values. Thus, these irregularities are highlighted by the CSP and FSP calculations. Additional contradictory solubility characteristics are disclosed by comparing the experimental solubility parameters to a linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) model, additive functional group calculations, and COSMO-RS computations. The FSP solubility function strongly suggests that the solubility parameters do not accurately represent the cohesive energy density properties of C60 and PCBM, as intended, but rather they manifest the properties of the solvents, e.g., high δP and δH values, that are necessary to accommodate these molecules in the liquid phase.