Highly oxygenated fullerenes, C60On with 3 <= n <= 9, have been prepared by the Lewis base enhanced catalytic oxidation Of C-60 with ReMeO3/H2O2. Pyridine, pyrazole, and 2,2'-bipyridine decrease the activity of the catalyst, while 3-cyanopyridine or 4-bromopyrazole show significant enhancements even at low base:MTO ratios. Increasing the catalyst:C-60 ratio increases the yield as well as shifting the product distribution to higher oxygenated products, in contrast, increasing the H2O2 concentration or increasing the reaction temperature shifts the product distribution in the opposite manner. Epoxidation of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is accomplished with ReMeO3/H2O2/4-bromopyrazole. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.