Atlas of Fullerenes

This book contains the first comprehensive introduction to the fullerenes, of which the celebrated icosahedral C 60 molecule is the archetype. The emphaiss is on the simple "first order" results that apply to the fullerene family as a whole, rather than on the detailed properties of specific cages. The topics covered include methods for generating and enumerating fullerence polyhedra, the systematic classification of fullerene electronic and spectroscopic signatures of fullerene isomers, isomerisation via the Stone Wales re-arrangement, and hypothetical mechanisms for formation and fragmentation. The discussion is complemented by a comprehensive catalogue (almost 200 pages of pictures and tables) of fullerene isomers with up to 50 carbon atoms and isolated-pentagon isomers with up to 100 carbon atoms, together with a listing of a computer program that can be used to extend the catalogue as necessary. The text of the book is written as a self-contained introduction to the fullerenes for graduate students in physics, chemistry and materials science. In addition, it provides a reference work for more experienced researchers, summarizing the current status of the field. This book is intended for researchers on fullerenes: chemists, physicists,materials scientists, and mathematicians (graduate and professional).Table of ContentIntroduction. 1: Fullerene cages. 2: Electronic structure. 3: Steric strain. 4: Symmetry and spectroscopy. 5: Fullerene isomerisation. 6: Carbon gain and loss. Appendix: The spiral computer program. Atlas tables