buckminsterfullerene

 

(bŭk'mĭnstərfʊl'ərēn', –fʊl'ərēn') or buckyball, C₆₀, hollow cage carbon molecule named for R. Buckminster Fuller because of the resemblance of its molecular structure to his geodesic domes. Although buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) was originally detected in soot in 1985, isolation was first reported in 1990. The soccerball-like molecules are prepared in helium by passing about 150 amps through a carbon rod and extracting the soot with benzene; the resulting magenta solution contains C₆₀ and C₇₀. See fullerene.

Bibliography

See J. Baggot, Perfect Symmetry: The Accidental Discovery of Buckminsterfullerene (1996); H. Aldersey-Williams, The Most Beautiful Molecule: The Discovery of the Buckyball (1997).