SOLID-STATE CHEMISTRY OF FULLERENE-BASED MATERIALS

The availability of “large” quantities of buckminsterfullerene (C60) and the related fullerenes (C70 etc.) has generated an explosion of research activity by synthetic and physical chemists. It is now evident that fullerene-derived solids are equally exciting, from both the fundamental and potential technological viewpoints, and that these solids possess many novel properties of interest to physicists and materials scientists. The 1985 Kroto/Smalley1 and 1990 Huffman/Kratschmer2 discoveries have indeed provided something for everyone! In this Account, we summarize what we have learned in the past 12 months about the pristine fullerene solids (or “fullerites”) C60 and C70 and a variety of chemically- modified solids. The emphasis is on synthetic methods, structure determinations, and phase transitions. Finally we describe a new modified fullerene “c60 monoxide” which may lead to interesting new solid phases. © 1992, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.