Soluble and tubular higher fullerenes that encapsulate metals

Abstract

Tubular! The detection of a series of very large, soluble endofullerenes extending from La 2C 90 to La 2C 138 proves that endohedral metal doping is an effective strategy for stabilizing these giant molecules. The X-ray structure of the most abundant isomer, La 2@D 5(450)-C 100 (see image), shows a tubular structure featuring a long La-La distance and maximal separation of pentagons within the cage framework. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.