In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a hollow cage. The structure, a truncated icosahedron with 32 faces, 12 pentagonal and 20 hexagonal, has the shape of a soccer ball.
Richard Smally
![Discovery of Fullerenes](/sites/default/files/styles/landmark_node_/public/landmarks/images/buckminsterfullerene.jpg?itok=4lPtnXFz)
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Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Itamblyn (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Buckminsterfullerene C60 is an example of a structure in the fullerene family.Era_date_from: 1985
2010
Innovations
![Discovery of Fullerenes](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/landmarks/images/buckminsterfullerene.jpg?itok=D_70PikY)
In early September 1985, a team of scientists discovered a previously unknown pure carbon molecule, C60, which they dubbed buckminsterfullerene. The name was chosen because the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller provided a clue that the molecule’s atoms might be arranged in the form of a…
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