Recent advances in fullerene superconductivity

Superconducting transition temperatures in bulk chemically intercalated fulleride salts reach 33 K at ambient pressure and in hole-doped C-60 derivatives in field-effect-transistor (FET) configurations, they reach 117 K. These advances pose important challenges for our understanding of high-temperature superconductivity in these highly correlated organic metals. Here we review the structures and properties of intercalated fullerides, paying particular attention to the correlation between superconductivity and interfullerene separation, orientational order/disorder, valence state, orbital degeneracy, low-symmetry distortions, and metal-C-60 interactions. The metal-insulator transition at large interfullerene separations is discussed in detail. An overview is also given of the exploding field of gate-induced superconductivity of fullerenes in FET electronic devices. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).