First- and second-electron affinities ofC60andC70isomers

Abstract

We present density functional theory calculations of C{sub 60}{sup q-} and C{sub 70}{sup q-} (q=0-2) isomers that contain zero to three pairs of adjacent pentagons. The first- and second-electron affinities for the archetype structures of C{sub 60} and C{sub 70} are close to the experimental results, while isomers with pentagon adjacencies have significantly higher values. The results are rationalized in view of the numbers and locations of pentagon adjacencies in the fullerene cages and the spherical aromaticity for the magic number C{sub 70}{sup 2-} with a closed (l=5) electronic shell in the spherical gas model.