J.M. Hawkins, A. Meyer, T.A. Lewis, S. Loren, F.J. Hollander, "Crystal structure of osmylated C60: Confirmation of the soccer ball framework," Science, 252:312-13, 1991.
Joel Hawkins (University of California, Berkeley): "We view C60 as an organic compound that happens to contain only carbon. As a discrete molecular species, it is set up for selective chemical manipulation through organic reactions. Specifically, these reactions involve the addition of chemical functional groups."Our addition of an osmyl group lowered the symmetry of C60, allowing the first determination of atomic positions by X-ray crystallography. This determination is significant not only because it proved the soccer ball-shaped carbon framework of C60, but also because it demonstrated the first modification of C60's properties through selective chemical functionalization. In expanding on this concept, the controlled addition of functional groups will allow chemists to go beyond buckminsterfullerene in the pursuit of novel molecules and materials."
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