C 36 molecule

Physicists Charles Piskoti and Alex Zettl, along with chemist Jeff Yarger, of the University of California, Berkeley, reported in June 25.1998 issue of Nature that they isolated a smaller fullerene sphere that contains just 36 carbon atoms. This discovery was reviewed by Robert F. Service in SCIENCE of the 26 JUNE 1998 (VOL. 280) in wrote an article entitled "New Fullerene Rounds Out the Family"

Curt Suplee in the Washington Post of Monday, June 29, 1998 (Pg A03) also writes about" 36 Sticky Atoms Could Give Carbon a Very Bright Future." Service reports that tests on the new fullerene show that it is far more chemically reactive than its larger cousin C60, which could make it easier to fashion into everything from high-temperature superconductors to high-strength materials.

C36 molecule (left) and ring of C 36 molecules around a C 60 molecule (right)

C36 is unstable to start with, hence its nickname "stickyball" Because of its ability to link to other atoms to it could yield stable new substances, which the molecule's unusual structure could endow with useful optical and electronic properties. Among those properties might be superconductivity. Zettl, in contrasting C60 and C36, says theory suggests that the smaller molecule, "should be an even better superconductor at an even higher temperature." Zettl also speculated that C-36 might "be interesting for medical reasons." For example, it might be able to take toxins out of the blood stream. Buckyballs are good at snatching up compounds called "free radicals" that inhibit cells' ability to repair themselves. But the problem is, Zettl noted, "you can't get them out of the body" once they've soaked up their load of nasty stuff. The far smaller size of C-36, however, "might be a real advantage."

Images courtesy of Zettl Group Research

See also:
Zettl Group Research page on C 36