Metal target

Laser beam

lensRick Smalley

Rice University

Metal Clusters

Fe10 Si6 Al20

etc

Try to reproduce the stellar plasma in the laboratory

Plasma in lab Exploding Star

Graphite Target

Focused Laser beam produces 10000o plasma

lens

Carbon chains molecules

Jim Heath and Sean O’Brien

Yuan Liu

carbon plasma cluster beam

Laser and graphite disk

skimmer hole to mass spectrometer

Laser Vapourisation Cluster Beam System - Smalley

Mass spectrum of carbon clusters (4-9-85) in which C60 and C70 were first recognised

as special

Buckminster Fuller’s Dome at Expo 67

C60: Buckminsterfullerene

Graphite Target

lens

A BIG surprise

Graphite Target

lens

C60 clusters

The IUPAC name !

Hentricontacyclo[29.29.0.02.14.03.12

.04.59.05.10.06.58.07.55.08.53.09.21.011.20

.013.18015.30.016.28.017.25.019.24.022.52

.023.50026.49.027.47.029.45.032.44.033.60

.034.57.035.43.036.56.037.41.038.54039.51

.040.48.042.46]

Hexaconta -1,3,5(10),6,8,11,13(18),14,16,19,21,27,29(45),30,32(44),33,35,(43),36,38(54),39(51),40(48),41,46,49,52,55,57,59 - tricontaene

rather like the floor of the Curl’s washroom

Graphite consists of sheets of carbon atoms in hexagonal arrays

Stardome

Map of the sky on a truncated icosahedron consisting of pentagons as

well as hexagons

Crystals of Buckminsterfullerene obtained by Kraetschmer and co-workers

nmr spectrum of soot extract

The Goode Company, Houston

The Second Strand

A fundamental advance was made at Rice University in Texas.

Smalley and co-workers developed a technique which enabled large metal

clusters (with tens of atoms) to be studied for the first time

Graphite is known to consist of layers of hexagonally packed carbon atoms

2cm

Supersonic cluster beam nozzle

Smalley and co-workers - Rice University 1981

Rotating metal disk

Focused laser beam

Helium

Solenoid valve

Aggregating clusters