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Published online: 2 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nchina.2008.154

Chlorofullerenes: Pineapples and planets

Tim Reid

Introduction

© (2008) Wiley Interscience

Fullerenes, such as the famous C₆₀ 'buckyball', are near-spherical carbon molecules with interesting properties. There are limits, however, on the number of stable forms fullerenes can take without adding other atoms. Suyuan Xie and co-workers at Xiamen University and Wuhan University¹ have produced two 'chlorofullerene' structures resembling Saturn and a pineapple (pictured), by including chlorine atoms on the outside of the fullerene shell.

The carbon atoms in fullerene shells are arranged in hexagons and pentagons. Usually the pentagons cannot be joined edge-to-edge because they make the lattice unstable. Xie and co-workers overcame this problem by adding chlorine atoms at the edges of the fused pentagons.

Their first structure, C₅₀Cl₁₀, has five pairs of fused pentagons around the centre with ten chlorine atoms bonded to them, resembling the rings of Saturn. The other, C₆₄Cl₄, has an extended top comprising three fused pentagons, and four chlorine atoms arranged like the leaves of a pineapple.

Both molecules can be packed tightly together, allowing a smooth transfer of electrons. This implies that the fullerenes could have applications in molecular electronics. The researchers even suggest that the chlorine atoms on neighbouring C₅₀Cl₁₀ molecules could interlock like teeth, providing molecular gearwheels for tiny mechanical devices.

The authors of this work are from:
State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Department of Chemistry, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China; Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.

Reference

1. Han, X. et al. Crystal structures of Saturn-like C₅₀Cl₁₀ and pineapple-shaped C₆₄Cl₄: Geometric implications of double- and triple-pentagon-fused chlorofullerenes. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. doi: 10.1002/anie.200800338 (2008). | Article |