Fullerenes and beyond: Complexity, morphology, and functionality in closed carbon nanostructures

Abstract

The discovery of buckminsterfullerene 25?years ago opened a new field in materials science in which different disciplines such as physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, and engineering came together. This discovery is a clear example of what we now call nanoscience, thus having important implications for several applications in what is known as the nanotechnology of carbon materials. In this chapter, a revision of the most important advances in this area, involving the multidisciplinarity of the field, is given. Special emphasis is given to the geometry, production methods, physicochemical behavior, applications, future perspectives, and the relationship to other layered materials such as graphene, graphene boron nitride, and metal chalcogenides.