Electronic structure and stability of higher fullerenes

Abstract

The structures of stable (i.e. produced, isolated and characterized) higher fullerenes have been analyzed. General rules governing the molecular structure of stable (extracted) higher fullerenes have been revealed. A number of fullerene substructures that have electronic features similar to their well known aromatic analogues have been identified. It has been shown, that the possibility of production of the isomers of higher fullerenes is defined by a position of the most energetically favorable isomer inside the suggested "beam of stability", constructed according to the calculated data for stable fullerenes, that the molecules have closed shell. © 2007 Springer.