Fullerenes are considered as some of the most promising materials in nanotechnology and
have already been applied in many fields such as electrics, optics, photovoltaic cells,
medicines and cosmetics. Due to the increasing use of these products, it is expected that the
production of fullerenes will increase in the near future. Consequently, the environmental
concern is likely to increase as well. However, knowledge about their environmental fate is
scarce. The present work focus on the study of the degradation of C60 fullerene during UV-A
irradiation in soil matrices. It was found that C60 degrades during UV-A irradiation in sand
and silica. Furthermore, C60 in sand degrades significantly faster than in silica with a
degradation rate (DT50) of respectively 1,05 and 1,70 days. In addition, the C60 in the sand
and silica control samples, which were not exposed to UV-A, decreased as well. However,
the reduction of C60 in the silica dark control samples was less evident than in the sand
control samples where the loss of C60 was observed during the whole incubation. Possible
explanations for the losses of C60 in the controls may be the presence of bacteria aiding the
degradation of C60 or losses due to sorption of C60 to the soil material. Eventually, the
result of the present work is the first to give an insight in the environmental fate of C60
fullerene in soil matrices during UV-A light irradiation. Yet, more research has to be
conducted for a better understanding of the processes involved, with a focus on UV-A
simulation and water content of the soil matrices.
Keywords: C60, fullerene, degradation, transformation products, UV-A, environmental fate