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Richard Smally

Discovery of Fullerenes
Society: ACS Main Category: Chemical Sub Category: Frontiers of Knowledge Era: 1980-1989 DateCreated: 1985 Rice University Houston State: TX Zip: 77005 Country: USA Website: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/fullerenes.html Creator: Curl, Robert , Kroto, Harold

In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a hollow cage. The structure, a truncated icosahedron with 32 faces, 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal, has the shape of a soccer ball.

YearAdded:
2010
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Itamblyn (CC BY-SA 3.0) Image Caption: Buckminsterfullerene C60 is an example of a structure in the fullerene family. Era_date_from: 1985
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Discovery of Fullerenes

In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a…

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