C 60 Buckminsterfullerene

Abstract

It has taken almost exactly five years to prove that the buckminsterfullerene structure, originally proposed to account for the unexpected stability of the C 60 molecule in cluster beam experiments, is actually correct. That an easily-produced, stable compound of pure carbon, the most studied of all the elements, could have been under our noses since time immemorial and have eluded detection for so long seems almost unbelievable. Although the existence of this molecule appears to have boundless prospects for the development of new materials with exciting and novel applications it is worth noting that it was serendipitously discovered during basic science programmes aimed at understanding the nature of processes in space rather than an applied programme aimed at understanding the intrinsic properties of carbon .