What is a endohedral fullerene?

Answer 1

Endohedral fullerene - Introducing and trapping of atoms inside the spherical carbon cage. Addition reactions

This simple topology consideration alone makes it evident that the reactivity of the fullerenes is significantly different from that of classical planar 'aromatics". Addition and redox reactions lead to covalent exohedral adducts and salts, respectively. Subsequent transformations of specifically activated adducts pave the way to other classes of fullerene derivatives. These are heterofullerenes, defined degradation products or partial structures, open cage species and endohedral fullerenes, and exohedral fullerenes. Alternatively, some of the prototypes of fullerene derivatives can be obtained directly during the fullerene formation out of graphite in the presence of foreign elements, by particle implantation methods. Most of the endohedral metallofullerenes are currently generated during the fullerene formation whereas partial structures are basically provided from total synthesis. For all the prototypes of fullerene derivatives in some cases a large number, of examples have already been realized. Among the salts the superconductors M3C60 (M is, for example, an alkali metal are the most prominent representatives

Answer 2

An endohedral fullerene is a spherical carbon cage-like structure, also known as a buckyball, with a molecule or atom encapsulated inside its cage. These structures have unique properties due to the confinement of the guest molecule or atom within the fullerene cage. Endohedral fullerenes have potential applications in areas such as medicine, materials science, and Nanotechnology.