Buckminsterfullerene surfaces

P. W. Rabideau, A. Sygula, Buckybowls Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons Related to the Buckminsterfullerene Surface , Acc. Chem. Res. 1996,29, 235-242. 

We will begin our considerations with those hydrocarbons that possess the minimum number of carbons, when arranged properly, to afford curvature, and then proceed to the Cjq s which represent one-half of the buckminsterfullerene surface. The application of theoretical models to curved surface hydrocarbons will be explored, and also consideration of their electron addition processes by both theoretical and experimental methods. 

As we prcx eed further with the process of generating hydrocarbons from carbon frameworks represented on the buckminsterfullerene surface, we encounter a new class of compounds known as semibuckminsterfullerenes. These Cjq hydrocarbons (Figure 5), which we will also refer to as buckybowls , represent one-half of the buckminsterfullerene Cgo surface, and share several common characteristics including 30 sp carbon frameworks consisting of multiple fused five- and six-membered rings and bowl-shaped geometries. 

The preceding section indicated the importance of corannulene as the smallest member of the family of bowl-shaped, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons modeling the surface of buckminsterfullerene. Surprisingly, despite its obvious significance in relationship to the theory of aromaticity, 8 had not attracted the attention of chemists prior to the first report of its synthesis in 1966." As Barth and Lawton noted ... to the time of our first report, it appears this structure had neither adoriied the jacket or end cover of any book nor served as a symbol of an international symposium. More than that, corannulene does not appear to have been suggested in the chemical literature prior to 1966. 

POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS WITH CURVED SURFACES HYDROCARBONS POSSESSING CARBON FRAMEWORKS RELATED TO BUCKMINSTERFULLERENE... 

In the case of buckminsterfullerene , a magic number of sixty carbons (i.e., 12-pentagons and 20 hexagons) become organized to form the outside surface of a hollow sphere (i.e., the exoskeleton) with sub-nanoscopic dimensions that... 

A ball-like structure of carbon has recently been discovered called Buckminsterfullerene. It has 60 carbon atoms arranged like the patches on the surface of a football. Would you expect this to be covalent or ionic Would you call this a giant structure ... 

A technique to produce samples consisting primarily of C o and C70 by fractional sublimation of carbon soot was found and used to produce solid films of these molecules. Film compositions were determined using a surface analytical mass spectrometric technique. Vibrational Raman spectra of the purified films were measured and vibrational lines of both Ceo and C70 are identified. A Cto line at 273 cm is observed, in agreement with theoretical predictions for the lowest frequency H, squashing" mode of Buckminsterfullerene. The two strongest C o lines, found at 1469 and 497 cm , can consistently be assigned to the two totally symmetric A, modes on the basis of their frequencies and measured depolarization ratios. 

FIGURE 7.20 (a) The structure of Ceo, buckminsterfullerene. Note the pattern of hexagons and pentagons, (b) The design on the surface of a soccer ball has the same pattern as the structure of Ceo. 

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