Synthesis with a template
Friday, May 1, 2009 - 09:35
in Physics & Chemistry
The discovery of a soccer-ball-shaped molecule made of 60 carbon atoms was a minor revolution in chemistry: Fullerenes are spherical, highly symmetrical molecules made of carbon atoms, and are the third form of carbon after diamond and graphite. However, the C60 'soccer ball' is not the only fullerene by far. Among its less stable relations is the C80 fullerene. There are seven different possible structural forms that have 80 carbon atoms in a symmetrical, spherical arrangement. Among the forms that are so instable they have not previously been produced is the icosahedral version (icosahedron= twenty-sided figure)...
