Fullerene was discovered in 1985, and ever since then, there are various types of fullerenes that were discovered based on structural variations. The allotrope of carbon C60 was named after Richard Buckminster Fuller who was popular for his geodesic dome. The shape has a similarity with the molecular structure of C60. These allotropes of carbon can be in the form of a sphere, ellipsoid, as well as tube shape. It is important to know the types of fullerenes available before you buy fullerenes from popular producers and suppliers like Mstnano.
Types of Fullerenes –
Buckyball Clusters – The most common Buckyball is C60, and the smallest member in the lot is C20. C70 is another common fullerene, and the carbon number can go up to 100. There is something called heterofullerene where carbons are substituted with heteroatoms like boron, nitrogen, oxygen, and even phosphorous. Another type is trimetasphere, and it belongs to the C80 family. These fullerenes can encapsulate metals and therefore, sometimes, referred to as metallofullerenes.
Nanotubes – These are very small in size, and there are mostly hollow from inside just like a tube. In fact, there are called the cylindrical fullerenes. There can be single or multiple boundaries. The wide can be a few nanometers, but the length can be in millimeters. They have very valuable macroscopic properties like high tensile strength, heat conductivity, electrical conductivity, ductility, and even chemical inactivity. Nanotubes are mostly used in the electronics industry. There are considerations of using it in the space elevator due to its high tensile strength. There is something called carbon nanobuds that are formed using nanotubes and buckyballs.
Megatubes – Megatubes are not extremely large, but in comparison to nanotubes, they are larger. They have walls of various dimensions and thickness. They are mostly used in the transportation for different sizes of molecules. In fact, they are the ones responsible for drug delivery as well as gene delivery.
Polymers – These are formed when there are high pressure and high temperature. They come in various different structures such as one-dimensional chain, two-dimensional chain, three-dimensional shapes and likewise. The single strand polymers are formed using the ATRAP route.
Nano-onions – These are spherical in shape, and they have multiple carbon structure with one buckyball in the core. These are widely used in the lubricant industry.
Apart from these, there are linked dimers where two buckyballs are linked by a carbon chain, and there are fullerene rings that are also a type of fullerene. Before you buy Fullerenes from any of these types, you need to know the exact applications of them for perfect use. Apart from these, there are fullerites which are solid state of fullerenes. There is another type which is referred to as ultrahardfullerite they fullerites are converted into a nanocrystalline form of diamond.
