hehehe, thats one thing we haven't decided on yet. We would have to watch the reaction- and that is something that may be very tricky. I also shouldn't say much, lest we get scooped. But it would involve peeking into the plasma, and seeing what is there with the metals, and what is otherwise.
Its really interesting to see that my little JACS communication has grown up. It is not the first example of the Isolated Pentagon rule(IPR) being broken. It isn't even the first crystal structure of a NonIPR fullerene- the first was done by my boss, Marilyn Olmstead, in 2003. The significance was that C84 has been studied, and characterized many times by x-ray crystallography. That a NonIPR cage structure emerged when an IPR cage was predicted was the suprise. That this isomer was made in larger quantities than the IPR isomer that was produced with it was also a suprise. Of course, this is what the paper really comes down to: when we put something into a fullerene, stability rules change. And the distribution of fullerene cages that is created from graphite rods doped with terbium is different from the distribution created from pure graphite. So the metals are influencing the formation of the cages.
The terbium atoms are in this example stabilizing the pentalene, (the pointy end where the two pentagons are fused) through a pi-bonding interaction similar to those seen in organometallic compounds. this interaction is similar to the other NonIPR structure, which also shows metal-pentalene bonding. So do these interactions drive the formation of the fullerene or are they just an interesting outcome? Thats the question for the future.
Hi All,
This is Christine Beavers... ya know the Mrs. Beavers.
The molecule is overall uncharged. The terbuim atoms each carry a 3+, the nitride is a -3, and the fullerene cage itself carries a 6-.
I don't endorse the blog, because it does misstate some things, and it is an opinion at the end. Not to mention the copyright infringement of stealing the JACS image, not the one I gave to UCD news.... hmmm I feel compromised... well I sure didn't ask him to write about my paper.
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hehehe, thats one thing we haven't decided on yet. We would have to watch the reaction- and that is something that may be very tricky. I also shouldn't say much, lest we get scooped. But it would involve peeking into the plasma, and seeing what is there with the metals, and what is otherwise.
Time will tell. But thanks for the question!
The terbium atoms are in this example stabilizing the pentalene, (the pointy end where the two pentagons are fused) through a pi-bonding interaction similar to those seen in organometallic compounds. this interaction is similar to the other NonIPR structure, which also shows metal-pentalene bonding. So do these interactions drive the formation of the fullerene or are they just an interesting outcome? Thats the question for the future.
Thanks for listening
Christine
The cage carries a 6- charge.
How would I know? see my other reply....
Hi All, This is Christine Beavers... ya know the Mrs. Beavers. The molecule is overall uncharged. The terbuim atoms each carry a 3+, the nitride is a -3, and the fullerene cage itself carries a 6-. I don't endorse the blog, because it does misstate some things, and it is an opinion at the end. Not to mention the copyright infringement of stealing the JACS image, not the one I gave to UCD news.... hmmm I feel compromised... well I sure didn't ask him to write about my paper.