A seven atom cluster in a carbon cage, the crystallographically determined structure of Sc_4(μ3-O)_3@I_h-C_(80)

摘要

The tetrahedral array of four scandium atoms with oxygen atoms capping three of the four faces found in Sc_4(μ_3-O)_3@I_h-C_(80) is the largest cluster isolated to date inside a fullerene cage.The closed carbon cages of fullerenes can encapsulate other atoms or molecules to form endohedral fullerenes. Thus, shortly after their initial detection of C_(60), Smalley, Kroto, Curl and co-workers reported the observation of LaC_(60) and suggested that it consisted of a lanthanum atom inside a shell of carbon atoms.