Bucky diamonds

Barnard, A.S., Rnsso, S.P., Snook, I.K., 2003, Coexistence of bucky diamond with nanodiamond and fiiUerene carbon phases, Phys. Rev. B 68,073406. 

Fullerene Any of various cagelike molecules that constitute the third form of pure carbon (along with the forms diamond and graphite), whose prototype C60 (bucky-ball) is the roundest molecule that exists fullerenes are a class of discrete molecules, soccerball-shaped forms of carbon with extraordinary stability (so named because their configuration suggests the shape of Buckminster Fuller s famous geodesic dome)... 

Feynman s vision of miniaturization and the Drexler-versus-Smalley debate on feasibility of mechanosynthetic reactions using molecular assemblers were discussed. Fullerenes are the third allotropic form of carbon. Soccer-ball-structured Cgo with a surface filled with hexagons and pentagons satisfies Euler s law. Howard patented the first generation combustion synthesis method for fullerene production. The projected price of the fullerenes has decreased from 165,000 per kg to 200 per kg in the second-generation process. Fullerenes can also be synthesized using chemical methods, a supercritical extraction method, and the electric arc process. Applications of fullerenes include high temperature superconductors, bucky onion catalysts, advanced composites and electromechanical systems, synthetic diamonds. 

Diamond, Graphite, Graphene, Bucky Ball and Nanotube (Fun with Carbon)... 

In comparison, diamond contains the carbon atoms in sp hybridization. This allows perfect packing of the tetrahedral carbon, making diamond (meaning unbreakable in ancient Greek) a very strong and stable material. The Bucky-ball (Buckminster fullerene) contains both sp and sp -hybridized carbon atoms. 

The stable form of carbon is graphite in which the sp bonds form hexagonal sheets bonded together by weak van der Waals forces. However, carbon atoms can also form a new class of materials called fullerenes which consists of molecules in the form C (n = 60-140) as well as cylindrical structures called CNTs. The Ceo molecules, known as bucky balls, can assemble in an fee close-packed array to form fullerites, a solid form of carbon that is harder than diamond and has many other remarkable properties, especially when metal atoms are intercalated into the structure to form fullerides. The CNTs also have remarkable mechanical and electronic properties ranging from super-strong composites to nanoelectronics. 

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