What is a fullerene?

What is a fullerene?


Fullerene - What is it?A fullerene is a third form of carbon along with graphite and diamond that features unique properties that make it ideal for photo-resists, organic photovoltaics, spin-on carbon hard masks and organic photo detectors.  Their discovery in 1985 was rewarded with a Nobel prize in chemistry 10-years later. Their unique geometric shape—similar to Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome—led to their being named “Buckminsterfullerenes.”


allotropes -  Diamond, graphite, and fulleren

From left to right: Diamond, graphite, and fullerene.



Fullerenes unique properties enable a range of application from electronics to medicine because they:

  • Can behave as superconductors through to semi-conductors
  • Are exceptional radical scavengers
  • Feature extreme durability
  • Can be easily modified to tailor properties as a Derivative, enabling modification to their electronic structure, solubility and physical properties

To learn more about Nano-C’s fullerenes click here.


geodesic dome similar in shape to a fullerene

A geodesic dome shares the same geometric structure as a buckminsterfullerene.