What is Fullerene?
Fullerenes are special carbon molecules made only of carbon atoms. They come in different shapes like a ball, egg, or tube. Think of them as a unique type of carbon, like how diamonds and graphite are different forms of carbon.
The most famous fullerene is C60. It’s made of 60 carbon atoms arranged in a ball shape, kind of like a soccer ball. Each carbon atom is connected to three nearby carbon atoms, forming patterns of hexagons and pentagons, just like the shapes on a soccer ball.
Discovery of Fullerene
In 1985, three scientists named Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley found something super cool called fullerenes. They got a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for this. They were doing experiments with lasers and graphite, which is a form of carbon like in pencils. While zapping graphite with lasers, they discovered fullerenes.
Fullerene
Fullerenes, also known as buckyballs or buckytubes, represent a fascinating class of carbon molecules with unique structural and electronic properties. Fullerenes were discovered in 1985 by scientists Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley.
Fullerenes were named after the renowned architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller, whose geodesic domes inspired their nomenclature. In this article, we will discuss the concept of fullerene in detail including its structure as well as various types.
Table of Content
- What is Fullerene?
- Structure of Fullerene
- Types of Fullerenes
- Properties of Fullerene
- Synthesis of Fullerene
- Uses of Fullerene