ABSTRACT
The experiments on the synthesis of new carbon clusters during the mid-1980s by Harry Kroto and Richard Smalley are the prelude to the story of nanotubes. From the vaporization of graphite and its expected condensation in carbon clusters of different sizes, particular structures containing precisely 60 and 70 carbons appear to be much more stable. These unexpected results brought into the spotlight the now famous C60 and its closed shell similar to a soccer ball, as presented in Figure 1. The family of the fullerene is discovered and published in Nature in 1985. 1 Five years later, the success in the synthesis of C60 in bulk quantity by Wolfgang Kratschmer and Donald Huffman 2 gave to the community, the opportunity to study the properties of this new form of carbon. During the 15 years, an impressive number of publications and extraordinary results appeared on the bucky ball and its derivatives. 3 , 4 The C<sub>60</sub> molecule : the bucky ball. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-u.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429109164/5bf0f0c2-7b25-4d3f-8162-70b67999a731/content/fig1_1.tif"/>
