Abstract: Water soluble fullerenols were synthesized and incorporated in SiO2, SiO2-TiO2, GPTMS- SiO2, GPTMS-ATPS inorganic and organic-inorganic materials by sol-gel processes. The maximum concentrations of C60 (OH) n and C70 (OH) n in the obtained SiO2 gels were estimated to be about 0.6% and 1.5% in weight, respectively. The characteristics of the UV/visible spectra of fullerenols in H2O and various gels were measured and compared. The thermal stability of fullerenols in gels was investigated with differential thermal analysis (DTA). The results indicate that the absorption features of fullerenols in solid gels are similar to those in H2O and the fullerenols in SiO2 are stable at 400ºC. The optical limiting effect of the fullerenols was investigated preliminarily.

Key words: Water soluble fullerenol, Sol-gel chemistry, Thermal stability, Optical properties