What is Buckminister fullerene ?

One of the most intresting development in late 20th century is the discovary of a new allotropic forms of carbonn, the fullerenc. It is the third form of pure crystaline form of the carbon after diamond and graphite. The new forms of carbon exist as C60 carbon cluster compound in the form of mustard coloured crystaline solid which dissolved in benzine to give magenta (Reddish purple) coloured solution. The molecule is of an extra ordinary structure consisting of C60 carbon atoms in a fused ring aromatic system which bends around and closer to form a "Soccer Ball" Shaped molecule with 20 six membred rings and 12 five membered rings and each carbon atom in it is sp2 hybridred and linked with three other carbon atom with one down and two single bond. It has been called Most Symmertical Molecule. The C60 molecule were first recognized and named as "Buckmiister fullerene" after the American architech enginear F.Buckminister (Bucky) Fuller. Who designed similar sheped down. More commenly, these molecules are now called fullerene and most informally "Bucky ball". This isomer of  carbon differ from diamond and graphite that diamond and graphite form lattice but fullerenes form discrete molecules.

Preparation

The Fullerenc can be perpared by one of the following techniques.

1. The current method of preparation involves vapourising carbon by either sensative and resistive  heating or by an electrical discharge between carbon electrodes under helium at 100 atm. and extracting C60/C70 fraction in bencene followed by purification by liquid chromatography. The C60 fraction is a magenta colour while C70 is orange
2. By heating carbon rods in an inert atmosphare of Helium or Argon and extracting the soot that forms with benzene.
3. By laser vapourisation of graphite 

The composation of the product formed in a method is variable. eg. Diedrich performed the resistive heating of graphite which produced 65% C60 30%  C70 and 5% higher Fullerene including C76, C78 and C84, Similarly Achiba and etal in Japan obtained C90 and C94 but C84 and C74 were produced in trace amount.