BUCKY BALL (new allotrope of carbon)
FULLERENES /BUCKMINSTER FULLERENES .
• DEFINITION . Fullerenes are molecules composed entirely of carbon atoms in the form of a
1.hollow sphere 2. ellipsoid 3. tubes .
• BUCKY BALLS . The spherical fullerenes are called bucky balls .
• EXPLANATION . Fullerenes are the new solid allotropes of the element CARBON . The
discovery of fullerenes significantly expanded the number of allotopes of carbon .
• Fullerenes and bucky balls are similar in structure to graphite (having hexagonal layers ).they
also consists of hexagonal rings made of carbon atoms ,but also pentagonal rings (sometimes
heptagonal rings ).
BUCKY BALLS ………
• DISCOVERY . Fullerene was discovered in 1985 by 1.herold kroto 2.james heath
3.Sean O brean 4. Robert curl and 5. Richard smalley . For this discovery they
were awarded Nobel prize in 1996 in chemistry .
• WHY THEY ARE CALLED BUCKMINSTER FULLERENES ?
• They are called buckminster fullerenes bcz of the following reason .
• REASON . This name is a tribute to Richard Buckminster Fuller ( a known
architecture ) who designed a bucky ball shaped building in montreal (in Canada )
.which are called as Geodesic domes.
Geodesic dome …
BUCKY BALLS .
• The spherical fullerenes are called bucky balls .
STRUCTURE OF BUCKY BALLS …….
• In bucky balls the carbon atoms ranges from 20 to 100 .the most common type
consists of sixty carbon atoms and is called as C60 .
• C60 . The molecule of C60 consists of 60 carbon atoms .The carbon atoms are join
together to form hexagons and pentagons .These rings fold around and make a
ball shaped molecule . The resultant molecule looks just like a football .
• NOTE . It (C60) is made up of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons .