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Three Scandium Atoms
Caption:
Researchers from the University of California-Davis have created Sc3N@C78, a molecule that may have applications in batteries and microelectronic components, chemical sensors, and catalysts. Using crystal X-ray diffraction, the research team determined the structure of the molecule--a type of fullerene--that consists of a spherical carbon cage surrounding a triangular cluster of three scandium atoms with a nitrogen center.
Fullerenes--commonly referred to as Buckyballs--are hollow, shell-like structures consisting of up to 80 carbon atoms bonded in pentagon rings. Sc3N@C78 is the only structure that researchers know contains an internal Sc3N group.
The researchers used arc vaporization, a common technique for making Buckyballs, to create {Sc3N@C78}, along with the related structures {Sc3N@C80} and {Sc3N@C68}. Arc vaporization is a process by which electrically charged graphite rods touch and then separate, triggering an arc of electricity. The arc vaporizes the graphite, creating soot from which researchers filter out the fullerenes.
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| Credit: |
Created by Dr. Marilyn M. Olmstead from data in: Olmstead, M. M., de Bettencourt-Dias, A., Duchamp, J. C., Stevenson, S., Marciu, D., Dorn, H. C., and Balch, A. L. Isolation and Structural Characterization of the Endohedral Fullerene Sc3N@C78. |
| Decade of Image: |
2000 - 2009 |
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Categories:
CHEMISTRY / Inorganic, Bioinorg, Organometallic
Formats Available:
Restrictions:
No additional restrictions--beyond NSF's general restrictions--have been placed on this image. For a list of general restrictions that apply to this and all images in the NSF Image Library, see the section "Conditions".
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