Size analysis of single fullerene molecules by electron microscopy

Individual fullerene molecules were observed and sized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Fullerene C-60 molecules were tethered by chemical bonding to carbon black particles to facilitate HRTEM imaging and sizing of known fullerenes. HRTEM analysis of soot samples from a fullerene-forming flame revealed the presence of a range of fullerenes from C-36 to C-176 and larger fullerene-like structures. The observation of fullerenes smaller than C-60 is noteworthy in that such structures necessarily contain adjacent pentagons and hence are strained and expected to have interesting reactivity that may be useful in certain applications. HRTEM can be used to detect and size fullerenes in samples containing fullerenes but not in sufficient quantity, or not sufficiently removable, to be detectable by chemical analysis. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.