Endofullerenes metallofullerenes

In general, electrochemical studies of Cg2 have been devoted to the study of its endohe-dral metallo complexes, in which metal atoms are trapped inside the fullerene cage. Part of the fascination with these molecules stems from two aspects of their electronic structures (1) Unlike noble gas endofullerenes, metallofullerenes are formed from a stable ion-pair association between a fulleride anion of charge n and a cation of charge n, which cannot escape from the anionic cage nor react with other substances outside the... 

Diener MD, Bolskar RD, Alford JM (2002) Redox properties and purification of endohedral metallofullerenes. In Akasaka T, Nagase S (eds.) Endofullerenes a new family of carbon clusters. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 133-151. 

Endohedral metallofullerenes, which encapsulate metal atoms in a carbon cage, are now becoming one of the attractive key materials for nanotechnology. Since the determination of the endohedral structure of Y C82 in 1995 [1], various endohedral structures of metallofullerenes have been revealed by X-ray structure analysis by our group [2-9]. The obtained results improved understanding of the stability of the metallofullerene endohedral structure and stimulated creation of novel endofullerene-related materials. 

From the structural studies given in this article, it is evident that the charge density study by the MEM/Rietveld method using SR powder diffraction data is powerful for determination of the endohedral nature of metallofullerenes. There is no doubt the structural information provided greatly contributes to progress in research of endofullerenes as well as endofullerene peapod, which is the met-allofullerene-encapsulating carbon nanotube. 

Kobayashi, K., 8c Nagase, S. (2002b). Structures and electronic properties of endohedral metallofullerenes theory and experiment. In T. Akasaka 8c S. Nagase (Eds.), Endofullerenes A new family of carbon custers (pp. 99-119). Dordrecht Kluwer. 

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