Nonmonotonic behavior of the concentration in the kinetics of dissolution of fullerenes

A cluster model for the dissolution of C₆₀ fullerenes in a nonpolar solvent has been proposed. This model provides the explanation of a maximum experimentally observed in the time dependence of the solution concentration during dissolution. The model is based on the kinetic equations of nucleation theory and involves a balance between the flux of fullerene molecules from the solid phase and the sedimentation of large clusters from the solution. The formation of clusters is described using the drop model. Analysis of the numerical solutions of the equations reveals four qualitatively different dissolution regimes depending on the relation between the model parameters.