nLab Fullerene

Contents

Idea

In chemistry, Fullerenes are a distinct class of molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms arranged in hollow geometric shapes such as spheres, ellipsoids, or tubes. The most famous variation is the soccer-ball-shaped Buckminsterfullerene C 60C_{60}, which has applications in nanotechnology and material science due to its unique structural and electronic properties.

Besides diamond and graphite, Fullerenes are one of the allotropes of carbon.

References

See also:

Discussion of Buckminsterfullerene using group theory of the icosahedral group and relating to statements in Galois's last letter:

  • Bertram Kostant: The graph of the truncated icosahedron and the last letter of Galois, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 2 9 (1995) 959–968 [pdf]

Last revised on June 7, 2026 at 13:37:58. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.