Formation Of Metallofullerenes Research Articles

Laser-ablation of C 60La 2O 3 mixture. A new route for trapping metal atoms inside a fullerene cage

The reaction of excimer laser (XeCl, 308 nm) vaporized and excited fullerene C 60 with La was carried out in a mixture of C 60 and La 2O 3. The reaction products La@C 60, La@C 60-2 n and La@C 60 + 2 m were identified by a reflectron type time-of-fligh mass spectrometer (RTOFMS). This work provides a first experimental evidence of endohedral metallofullerene formation by letting a La atom penetrate into the C 60 cage through a sort of ‘window’ mechanism.

Aromaticity of Multiply Charged Fullerene Ions

Abstract The topological resonance energies (TREs) indicate that mono- to hexaanions of C60 are as aromatic as the neutral species. The tendency of multiply charged C60 anions to retain their own spherical conjugated systems can be attributed to aromatic character. Tetraanions of C28, C36, and C44 are likewise predicted to be highly aromatic. Thus, the formation of metallofullerenes, such as U@C28, U@C36, and U@C44, can be rationalized in terms of aromaticities of the ligands.