Fullerene release from the inside of carbon nanotubes: A possible route toward drug delivery

The filling and depletion of carbon nanotubes with C60 fullerenes is reported using solvents. We use X-ray diffractometry and Raman spectroscopy to show that large diameter carbon nanotubes can be filled with fullerenes using methanol with a high efficiency and can be also removed from the inside of the tubes using dichlorobenzene. The latter solvent effectively removes weakly bound C60s from inside the large diameter tubes, which is explained by the high solubility of C60 in dichlorobenzene.