Fullerenes: On the ball

Superconductivity was first observed in electron-doped C₆₀ a decade ago, since when there has been considerable speculation as to why superconductivity had not been observed in that other well-known member of the fullerene family, C₇₀. The absence of superconductivity in doped C₇₀ would run counter to current predictions of the link between superconductivity and molecule size — but the predictions are now justified with the announcement that electron-doped single crystals of C₇₀ are indeed superconducting, with a transition temperature of about 7K. If, as expected, electron–photon coupling increases with the increasing curvature of the molecules, then doping of smaller fullerenes like C₃₆ may reveal transition temperatures even higher than for C₆₀, closing the gap to the 'class-leading' copper oxide superconductors.

Superconductivity in single crystals of the fullerene C₇₀
J. H. SCH�N, CH. KLOC, T. SIEGRIST, M. STEIGERWALD, C. SVENSSON & B. BATLOGG
Nature 413, 831-833 (25 October 2001)
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25 October 2001 table of contents