Buckminsterfullerenes

The discovery and development of BuckminsterFullerenes

A report by Libby McConnell

Introduction to carbon and basic chemistry concepts

Fullerenes a modern material discovered in 1985 are essentially an allotrope of the element carbon. Carbon itself is one of the most common elements found on the earth today, the sixth most abundant in the world. Anything deemed “living” is carbon containing and naturally occurring or organic. In fact an entire subsection of chemistry is dedicated to the study of carbon related science, it is called organic chemistry. Throughout the ages carbon has being extracted from coal deposits. As it is found in 90 % of all chemical known to man, most fuels, oils and LPG gases are hydrocarbons such as methane. Ethanol is a common alcohol used in many beverages and also contains carbon. Glucose which is our body’s main source of energy is made up of 6 parts carbon, 12 parts hydrogen and 6 parts oxygen C6H12O6. Along with hydrogen and Oxygen, Carbon is an organic molecule found on this planet. It is the sixth element on the periodic table found in group 14, period 2. A black solid at room temperature, and has an atomic mass of 12 meaning each atom contains 6 electrons, 6 protons and 6 neutrons. However, as carbon is mostly found in conjunction with other elements,

Carbon also forms varying naturally occurring materials known as, allotropes. The two most common allotropes of Carbon are graphite, a black soft and smooth substance most commonly known in graphite pencil, it is often used as a lubricant. Another carbon allotrope which is starkingly different to graphite is Diamond, a rare hardened jewel. In 1985 however, a new allotrope was discovered and named buckminsterfullerene or fullerenes for short. Named after Buckminster fuller an architect which had previously designed a spherical building almost identical to the new allotropes similar