Fullerenes

Recent advances in research on fullerene solids include the discovery of quasi-one-dimensional bridged C-60(3-) structures formed by ternary and quaternary sodium fullerides, Na-2(A,A')C-60 with small interfullerene spacings; the successful synthesis of superconducting salts with C-60 oxidation states both greater and smaller than three (tunable band filling); and the synthesis and characterization of an ever increasing family of magnetic and superconducting ammoniated salts. In addition, the fullerene family has now been enriched by the successful synthesis of the first heterofullerene solids and their derivatives in which nitrogen has directly replaced a carbon atom on the fullerene skeleton.