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Any of a class of carbon molecules in which the carbon atoms are arranged into 12 pentagonal faces and two or more hexagonal faces to form a hollow sphere, cylinder, or similar figure. The smallest possible fullerene molecule may have as few as 32 atoms of carbon, although fullerene-like molecules (lacking a hexagonal face) with as few as 20 carbon atoms have been found. The most common and most stable fullerene is buckminsterfullerene , a spheroidal molecule, resembling a soccer ball, consisting of 60 carbon atoms.


Fullerenes were first identified in 1985 CE as products of experiments in which graphite was vaporized using a laser, work for which R. F. Curl, Jr., R. E. Smally, and H. W. Kroto shared the 1996 CE Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Fullerenes have since been discovered in nature as a result of lightning strikes, in the residue produced by carbon arc lamps, in interstellar dust, and in meteorites.

Fullerene chemistry involves substituting metal atoms for one or more carbon atoms in the molecule to produce compounds called fullerides. Among these are conducting films of alkali metal-doped fullerenes and superconductors (potassium-doped T c 18, rubidium-doped T c 30). Fullerenes also have been used to produce tiny diamonds and thin diamond films. Fullerene research has lead to new materials, lubricants, coatings, catalysts, electro-optical devices, and medical applications.

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