Fullerene Fullerene is the general name of the 3rd carbon allotrope, of which the
soccer ball-shaped molecule C60 is a typical example (Fig.4.6). R. E. Smalley, H. W.
Kroto and others detected C60 in the mass spectra of the laser heating product of graphite in 1985, and fullerene’s isolation from this so-called "soot" was reported in 1991. It has
the structure of a truncated (corner-cut)-icosahedron and there is double bond character
between carbon atoms. It is soluble in organic solvents, with benzene solutions being
purple. Usually, it is isolated and purified by chromatography of fullerene mixtures.
Wide-ranging research on chemical reactivities and physical properties such as
superconductivity, is progressing rapidly. Besides C60, C70 and carbon nanotubes are
attracting interest.