CHARACTERIZATION OF FULLERENES BY MASS-SPECTROMETRY

Research on the recently-discovered new form of carbon, fullerenes, is expanding at a rapid rate. As explained elsewhere in this issue, this new scientific field has emerged from fundamental studies of gas-phase carbon clusters. 1 This research, largely based on mass spectrometry experiments, 2-5 provided the crucial evidence for postulation of the fullerene structures.4 This led to further experimental and theoretical work and, finally, to the discovery of a method by which large quantities of fullerenes can be synthesized.6 The purpose of this Account is to describe some of the key, early mass spectrometric studies of gas-phase carbon clusters, which served as a prelude to the Huffman- Kr ä tschmer discovery, as well as some more recent investigations of fullerene properties in the gas phase. © 1992, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.