Isolation and structural characterization of a family of endohedral fullerenes including the large, chiral cage fullerenes Tb(3)N@C(88) and Tb(3)N@C(86) as well as the I(h) and D(5)(h) isomers of Tb(3)N@C(80)

The recent finding that isomer 2 of Tb(3)N@C(84) uses one of the 51,568 possible nonisolated pentagon rule (non-IPR) structures for the C(84) cage rather than one of the 24 cage isomers that do obey the IPR suggests that further experimental work on the structure of larger endohedrals is needed to observe the utility of the IPR rule in this uncharted territory. The structures of the newly synthesized endohedral fullerenes--Tb(3)N@C(88), Tb(3)N@C(86), and the Ih and D(5)(h) isomers of Tb(3)N@C(80)--have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction on samples cocrystallized with NiII(octaethylporphyrin). In contrast to the situation for isomer 2 of Tb(3)N@C(84), the structures of Tb(3)N@C(88) and Tb(3)N@C(86) do conform to the IPR. Both Tb(3)N@C(88) and Tb(3)N@C(86) have chiral structures with D(2) symmetry for Tb(3)N@C(880 and D(3) symmetry for Tb(3)N@C(86). Within this group of endohedrals, the size of the carbon cage affects the Tb-N and Tb-C distances, the orientations of the carbon cage with respect to the porphyrin plane, the locations of the metal ions and their orientations relative to the porphyrin plane, and the degree of pyramidalization of the Tb(3)N unit.     

Is the isolated pentagon rule merely a suggestion for endohedral fullerenes? The structure of a second egg-shaped endohedral fullerene--Gd3N@C(s)(39663)-C82

The structure of Gd3N@Cs(39663)-C82 has been determined through single crystal X-ray diffraction on Gd3N@Cs(39663)-C82.NiII(OEP).2(C6H6) The carbon cage has a distinct egg shape because of the presence of a single pair of fused pentagons at one apex of the molecule. Although 9 IPR structures are available to the C82 cage, one of the 39709 isomeric structures that do not conform to the IPR was found in Gd3N@Cs(39663)-C82. The egg-shaped structure of Gd3N@Cs(39663)-C82 is similar to that observed previously for M3N@Cs(51365)-C84 (M = Gd, Tm, Tb). As noted for other non-IPR endohedral fullerenes, one Gd atom in Gd3N@Cs(39663)-C82 is nestled within the fold of the fused pentagons.     

Structure, stability, and cluster-cage interactions in nitride clusterfullerenes M3N@C2n (M = Sc, Y; 2n = 68-98): a density functional theory study

Extensive semiempirical calculations of the hexaanions of IPR (isolated pentagon rule) and non-IPR isomers of C(68)-C(88) and IPR isomers of C(90)-C(98) followed by DFT calculations of the lowest energy structures were performed to find the carbon cages that can provide the most stable isomers of M(3)N@C(2n) clusterfullerenes (M = Sc, Y) with Y as a model for rare earth ions. DFT calculations of isomers of M(3)N@C(2n) (M = Sc, Y; 2n = 68-98) based on the most stable C(2n)(6-) cages were also performed. The lowest energy isomers found by this methodology for Sc(3)N@C(68), Sc(3)N@C(78), Sc(3)N@C(80), Y(3)N@C(78), Y(3)N@C(80), Y(3)N@C(84), Y(3)N@C(86), and Y(3)N@C(88) are those that have been shown to exist by single-crystal X-ray studies as Sc(3)N@C(2n) (2n = 68, 78, 80), Dy(3)N@C(80), and Tb(3)N@C(2n) (2n = 80, 84, 86, 88) clusterfullerenes. Reassignment of the carbon cage of Sc(2)@C(76) to the non-IPR Cs: 17490 isomer is also proposed. The stability of nitride clusterfullerenes was found to correlate well with the stability of the empty 6-fold charged cages. However, the dimensions of the cage in terms of its ability to encapsulate M(3)N clusters were also found to be an important factor, especially for the medium size cages and the large Y(3)N cluster. In some cases the most stable structures are based on the different cage isomers for Sc(3)N and Y(3)N clusters. Up to the cage size of C(84), non-IPR isomers of C(2n)(6-) and M(3)N@C(2n) were found to compete with or to be even more stable than IPR isomers. However, the number of adjacent pentagon pairs in the most stable non-IPR isomers decreases as cage size increases: the most stable M(3)N@C(2n) isomers have three such pairs for 2n = 68-72, two pairs for n = 74-80, and only one pair for n = 82, 84. For C(86) and C(88) the lowest energy IPR isomers are much more stable than any non-IPR isomer. The trends in the stability of the fullerene isomers and the cluster-cage binding energies are discussed, and general rules for stability of clusterfullerenes are established. Finally, the high yield of M(3)N@C(80) (Ih) clusterfullerenes for any metal is explained by the exceptional stability of the C(80)(6-) (Ih: 31924) cage, rationalized by the optimum distribution of the pentagons leading to the minimization of the steric strain, and structural similarities of C(80) (Ih: 31924) with the lowest energy non-IPR isomers of C(760(6-), C(78)(6-), C(82)(6-), and C(84)(6-) pointed out.     

New egg-shaped fullerenes: non-isolated pentagon structures of Tm3N@C(s)(51 365)-C84 and Gd3N@C(s)(51 365)-C84

Although there are 51 568 non-IPR and 24 IPR structures for C84, the egg-shaped endohedral fullerenes Tm3N@C(s)(51 365)-C84 and Gd3N@C(s)(51 365)-C84 utilize the same non-IPR cage structure as found initially for Tb3N@C(s)(51 365)-C84.     

Mononuclear Clusterfullerene Single‐Molecule Magnet Containing Strained Fused‐Pentagons Stabilized by a Nearly Linear Metal Cyanide Cluster

Fused‐pentagons results in an increase of local steric strain according to the isolated pentagon rule (IPR), and for all reported non‐IPR clusterfullerenes multiple (two or three) metals are required to stabilize the strained fused‐pentagons, making it difficult to access the single‐atom properties. Herein, we report the syntheses and isolations of novel non‐IPR mononuclear clusterfullerenes MNC@C₇₆ (M=Tb, Y), in which one pair of strained fused‐pentagon is stabilized by a mononuclear cluster. The molecular structures of MNC@C₇₆ (M=Tb, Y) were determined unambiguously by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, featuring a non‐IPR C _2v (19138)‐C₇₆ cage entrapping a nearly linear MNC cluster, which is remarkably different from the triangular MNC cluster within the reported analogous clusterfullerenes based on IPR‐obeying C₈₂ cages. The TbNC@C₇₆ molecule is found to be a field‐induced single‐molecule magnet (SMM).     

A facile route to the non-IPR fullerene Sc3N@C68: synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and density functional theory computations (IPR=isolated pentagon rule)

Owing to the unique feature of the non-IPR D3 (isomer 6140) C68 cage (IPR=isolated pentagon rule), Sc3N@C68 has been attracting great interest in the fullerene community. Herein we report the first high-yield synthesis of Sc3N@C68 by the "reactive gas atmosphere" method and its facile isolation by single-step HPLC to a high purity (>or=99 %). Thus, Sc3N@C68 is isolated in sufficient quantities for its further spectroscopic characterization, while the high purity of the sample ensures the reliability of the spectroscopic data obtained. In particular, the electronic and vibrational structures of Sc3N@C68 were studied in detail experimentally and by theoretical computations. The assignment of the observed absorption bands to particular electronic transitions is given in detail on the basis of time-dependent DFT computations. Vibrational spectroscopy of Sc3N@C68 reveals good agreement between the measured spectra and the theoretically calculated spectra. A detailed assignment of the vibrational modes, including the Sc3N cluster modes, cage modes, and vibrations of the adjacent pentagons are discussed. This study reveals that the effect of Sc3N encapsulation in the cage is much more complicated than just a formal transfer of six electrons. Consequently the electronic and vibrational spectra of the carbon cage in Sc3N@C68 cannot be adequately understood on the basis of a C68 (6-) cage alone.     

Expanding the number of stable isomeric structures of the C80 cage: a new fullerene Dy3N@C80

The production, isolation, and spectroscopic characterization of a new Dy3N@C80 cluster fullerene that exhibits three isomers (1-3) is reported for the first time. In addition, the third isomer (3) forms a completely new C80 cage structure that has not been reported in any endohedral fullerenes so far. The isomeric structures of the Dy3N@C80 cluster fullerene were analyzed by studying HPLC retention behavior, laser desorption time-of-flight (LD-TOF) mass spectrometry, and UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectroscopy. The three isomers of Dy3N@C80 were all large band-gap (1.51, 1.33, and 1.31 eV for 1-3, respectively) materials, and could be classified as very stable fullerenes. According to results of FTIR spectroscopy, the Dy3N@C80 (I) (1) was assigned to the fullerene cage C80:7 (I(h)), whereas Dy3N@C80 (II) (2) had the cage structure of C80:6 (D(5h)). The most probable cage structure of Dy3N@C80 (III) (3) was proposed to be C80:1 (D(5d)). The significant differences between Dy3N@C80 and other reported M3N@C80 (M = Sc, Y, Gd, Tb, Ho, Er, Tm) cluster fullerenes are discussed in detail, and the strong influence of the metal on the nitride cluster fullerene formation is concluded.     

Comparative investigation on non-IPR C68 and IPR C78 fullerenes encaging Sc3N molecules

A computational study on the experimentally detected Sc(3)N@C(68) cluster is reported, involving quantum chemical analysis at the B3LYP/6-31G level. Extensive computations were carried out on the pure C(68) cage which does not conform with the isolated pentagon rule (IPR). The two maximally stable C(68) isomers were selected as initial Sc(3)N@C(68) cage structures. Full geometry optimization leads to a confirmation of an earlier assessment of the Sc(3)N@C(68) equilibrium geometry (Nature 2000, 408, 427), namely an eclipsed arrangement of Sc(3)N in the C(68) 6140 frame, where each Sc atom interacts with one pentagon pair. From a variety of theoretical procedures, a D(3h) structure is proposed for the free Sc(3)N molecule. Encapsulated into the C(68) enclosure, this unit is strongly stabilized with respect to rotation within the cage. The complexation energy of Sc(3)N@C(68) cage is found to be in the order of that determined for Sc(3)N@C(80) and exceeding the complexation energy of Sc(3)N@C(78). The cage-core interaction is investigated in terms of electron transfer from the encapsulated trimetallic cluster to the fullerene as well as hybridization between these two subsystems. The stabilization mechanism of Sc(3)N@C(68) is seen to be analogous to that operative in Sc(3)N@C(78). For both cages, C(68) and C(78), inclusion of Sc(3)N induces aromaticity of the cluster as a whole.     

The role of an asymmetric nitride cluster on a fullerene cage: the non-IPR endohedral DySc2N@C76

The first non-IPR C(76) cage based on a mixed metal nitride cluster, DySc(2)N@C(76), was successfully synthesized and isolated. DySc(2)N@C(76) is a stable fullerene with a small band gap of 0.96 eV. According to the FTIR spectroscopic study in combination with extensive DFT calculations, the cage structure of DySc(2)N@C(76) has been assigned to the non-IPR C(s): 17490-I isomer having two pairs of the adjacent pentagons. DySc(2)N@C(76)provides the first example of stabilization of the non-IPR C(76) cage by encapsulation of an asymmetric DySc(2)N mixed cluster, revealing the role of the cluster structure on the stability of the fullerene cage. As the asymmetric DySc(2)N cluster has a more suitable geometry for the inner space of the C(76) cage compared to that of the homogeneous clusters like Sc(3)N or Dy(3)N, the highest yield for C(76)-based cluster fullerenes with the Dy(x)Sc(3)-(x)N mixed nitride cluster is achieved for the DySc(2)N@C(76)     

Deviation from the planarity--a large Dy3N cluster encapsulated in an Ih-C80 cage: an X-ray crystallographic and vibrational spectroscopic study

The high-yield synthesis of Dy3N@C80 (I) opens the possibility of characterizing its molecular and vibrational structures. We report on the structure determination of Dy3N@C80 (I) by X-ray crystallographic study of single crystal of Dy3N@C80.Ni(OEP).2C6H6, revealing a nearly planar Dy3N cluster encapsulated in an Ih-C80 cage. The vibrational structure of Dy3N@C80 (I) is studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy in combination with force-field calculations. A correlation was found between the antisymmetric metal-nitrogen stretching vibration and the structure of the M3N cluster of M3N@C80 (I) (M = Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm). Moreover, a stronger interaction between the encaged nitride cluster and the C80 carbon cage was found in the class II M3N@C80 (I) (M = Y, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) than in Sc3N@C80 (I). This study demonstrates that the cluster size plays the dominating role in the structure of the M3N cluster in M3N@C80 (I).     

Non-IPR fullerenes with properly closed shells

Fullerenes with properly closed shells (having exactly half their adjacency eigenvalues strictly positive) are rare. All reported examples obey the isolated-pentagon rule (IPR), usually considered a necessary condition of overall stability, and fall into three series (leapfrogs, carbon cylinders and sporadic closed shells). It is shown here that there also exist fullerenes with properly closed shells that violate the IPR ('super-sporadic' fullerenes). All have negative LUMO eigenvalues of small magnitude. Exhaustive search finds four examples with 160 or fewer vertices: one isomer of C(120), two of C(156) and one of C(160). The first three contain single pentagon pairs and the fourth, a linear triple of fused pentagons. Larger examples can be found. A capping construction gives a series of properly closed shell fullerenes of C(3)/C(3v) symmetry, each with a single fully fused triple of pentagons and ≥632 vertices. Tubular extension of the C(120) example leads a series of C(1)/C(s) isomer pairs with ≥168 vertices, retaining the single pentagon adjacency and approaching isospectrality with increasing size. Both constructions are conjectured to lead to an infinite number of super-sporadic fullerenes.     

Strain Release of Fused Pentagons in Fullerene Cages by Chemical Functionalization

According to the isolated pentagon rule (IPR), for stable fullerenes, the 12 pentagons should be isolated from one another by hexagons, otherwise the fused pentagons will result in an increase in the local steric strain of the fullerene cage. However, the successful isolation of more than 100 endohedral and exohedral fullerenes containing fused pentagons over the past 20 years has shown that strain release of fused pentagons in fullerene cages is feasible. Herein, we present a general overview on fused‐pentagon‐containing (i.e. non‐IPR) fullerenes through an exhaustive review of all the types of fused‐pentagon‐containing fullerenes reported to date. We clarify how the strain of fused pentagons can be released in different manners, and provide an in‐depth understanding of the role of fused pentagons in the stability, electronic properties, and chemical reactivity of fullerene cages.     

C78 cage isomerism defined by trimetallic nitride cluster size: a computational and vibrational spectroscopic study

Molecular structures of Dy(3)N@C(78) and Tm(3)N@C(78) clusterfullerenes are addressed by the IR and Raman vibrational spectroscopic studies and density functional theory (DFT) computations. First, extensive semiempirical calculations of 2927 isomers of C(78) hexaanions followed by DFT optimization were applied to establish their relative stability. Then, DFT calculations of a series of M(3)N@C(78) (M = Sc, Y, Lu, La) isomers were performed which have shown that the stability order of the isomers depends on the cluster size. While the Sc(3)N cluster is planar in the earlier reported Sc(3)N@C(78) (D(3)h: 24,109) clusterfullerenes, relatively large Y(3)N and Lu(3)N clusters would be forced to be pyramidal inside this cage, which would result in their destabilization. Instead, these clusters remain planar in the nonisolated pentagon rule (non-IPR) C(2): 22,010 isomer making Y(3)N@C(78) and Lu(3)N@C(78) clusterfullerenes with this cage structure the most stable ones. Finally, on the basis of a detailed analysis of their IR and Raman spectra supplemented with DFT vibrational calculations, the recently isolated Tm(3)N@C(78) and the major isomer of Dy(3)N@C(78) are assigned to the non-IPR C(2): 22,010 cage structure. A detailed assignment of their experimental and computed IR and Raman spectra is provided to support this conclusion and to exclude other cage isomers.     

Chlorination‐promoted Transformation of Isolated Pentagon Rule C78 into Fused‐pentagons‐ and Heptagons‐containing Fullerenes

Cage transformations in fullerenes are rare phenomena which are still not fully understood. We report the first skeletal transformation of an Isolated‐Pentagon‐Rule (IPR) isomer of C₇₈ fullerene upon high‐temperature chlorination which proceeds by six‐step Stone–Wales rearrangements affording non‐IPR, non‐classical (NC ) C₇₈(NC 2)Cl₂₄ with two cage heptagons, six pairs of fused pentagons, and an unprecedented loop‐like chlorination pattern. The following loss of a C₂ unit results in C₇₆(NC 3)Cl₂₄ containing three cage heptagons.     

富勒烯C70及Sc3N@C70的密度泛函理论研究

在混合密度泛函B3LYP理论下,用6-31G*基函数对富勒烯C70、它的阴离子及内掺Sc3N富勒烯Sc3N@C70两种同分异构体的几何结构和电子结构进行了研究。计算结果表明,在C70的两种异构体中,满足五元环分离规则(IPR)的C70(D5h)稳定,C70q-(#7854)(q=4,6)比C70q-(D5h)稳定;在Sc3N@C70两种异构体中有三对两两相邻五元环的Sc3N@C70(#7854)稳定,C70(#7854)易于形成富勒烯金属包合物。     

C64H4: production, isolation, and structural characterizations of a stable unconventional fulleride

Unconventional fullerenes are those smaller than C(60) or those intermediate between C(60) and C(70), which are not stable in structure as none of the unconventional fullerene isomers satisfying the "isolated-pentagon-rule" (IPR). Below we report the synthesis of a stable unconventional fullerene derivative C(64)H(4) by introducing methane in the fullerene productions with the normal Kr?tschmer-Huffman method. We also applied various spectroscopic measurements such as mass spectrometry, (13)C NMR, IR, UV-vis absorption spectrometry, etc. to characterize the structural and electronic properties of this molecule, revealing an unprecedented fullerene cage with a triplet of directly fused pentagons in the framework of C(64)H(4). Four hydrogen atoms are added to the carbons at vertexes of fused pentagons to allow the bond angles at these sites close to the sp(3) tetrahedral angle, which essentially release the sp(2) bond strains on the abutting-pentagon sites of C(64). Ab initio calculations were performed to explore the electronic property and simulate the (13)C NMR and IR spectra of this fulleride, which reproduced well the experimental results and confirmed the structural assignment of the C(64)H(4).     

Violating the isolated pentagon rule (IPR): endohedral non-IPR C98 cages of Gd2@C98

The geometric, electronic structure, and thermodynamic stability of large gadolinium-containing endohedral metallofullerenes, Gd(2)@C(98), have been systematically investigated by comprehensive density functional theory calculations combined with statistical mechanics treatments. The Gd(2)@C(2)(230924)-C(98) structure, which satisfies the isolated-pentagon rule (IPR), is determined to possess the lowest energy followed with some stable non-IPR isomers. In order to clarify the relative stabilities at elevated temperatures, entropy contributions are taken into account on the basis of the Gibbs energy at the B3LYP level for the first time. Interestingly, a novel non-IPR Gd(2)@C(1)(168785)-C(98) isomer which has one pair of pentagon adjacency is more thermodynamically stable than the lowest energy IPR species within a wide temperature interval related to fullerene formation. Therefore, the Gd(2)@C(1)(168785)-C(98) is predicted to be the most proper isomer obtained experimentally, which is the largest non-IPR carbon cage found so far. Our findings demonstrate that interaction between metals and carbon cages could stabilize the fused pentagons effectively, and thus, the non-IPR isomers should not be ignored in some cases of endohedral metallofullerenes. The IR features of Gd(2)@C(98) are simulated to assist its future experimental characterization.     

Computed structures of two known Yb@C74 isomers

Six isomers of Yb@C74 are considered, namely one cage with isolated pentagons, three isomers with a pentagon-pentagon junction, two structures with one pentagon-pentagon pair, and one heptagon. The computations based on the Gibbs energy point out the endohedral derived from the only C74 cage with the isolated pentagons and from a cage with one pentagon-pentagon junction as the major and minor observed isomer, respectively. Temperatures giving the best agreement with the experimental production ratio are evaluated.     

Structure and enhanced reactivity rates of the D5h Sc3N@C80 and Lu3N@C80 metallofullerene isomers: the importance of the pyracylene motif

In this paper we report enhanced reactivity of the D(5h) isomers in comparison with the more common I(h) isomers of Sc(3)N@C(80) and Lu(3)N@C(80) toward Diels-Alder and 1,3-dipolar tritylazomethine ylide cycloaddition reactions. Also, the structure of the D(5h) isomer of Sc(3)N@C(80) has been determined through single-crystal X-ray diffraction on D(5h)-Sc(3)N@C(80).Ni(OEP).2benzene (OEP = octaethylporphyrin). The Sc(3)N portion of D(5h)-Sc(3)N@C(80) is strictly planar, but the plane of these four atoms is tipped out of the noncrystallographic, horizontal mirror plane of the fullerene by 30 degrees . The combination of short bond length and high degree of pyramidization for the central carbon atoms of the pyracylene sites situated along a belt that is perpendicular to the C(5) axis suggests that these are the sites of greatest reactivity in the D(5h) isomer of Sc(3)N@C(80). Consistent with the observation of higher reactivity observed for the D(5h) isomers, cyclic voltammetry and molecular orbital (MO) calculations demonstrate that the D(5h) isomers have slightly smaller energy gaps than those of the I(h) isomers. The first mono- and bis-adducts of D(5h) Sc(3)N@C(80) have been synthesized via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of tritylazomethine ylide. The NMR spectrum for the monoadduct 2b is consistent with reaction at the 6,6-ring juncture in the pyracylene unit of the D(5h) Sc(3)N@C(80) cage and is the thermodynamically stable isomer. On the other hand, monoadduct 2a undergoes thermal conversion to other isomeric monoadducts, and three possible structures are proposed.     

X-ray crystallographic proof of the isomer D2-C84(5) as trifluoromethylated and chlorinated derivatives, C84(CF3)16, C84Cl20, and C84Cl32

Minor isomer comes forward: Minor isomer C(84)(5) has been captured by high temperature trifluoromethylation with CF(3)I and chlorination with VCl(4). The compounds C(84)(CF(3))(16), C(84)Cl(20), and C(84)(5)Cl(32) were investigated by X-ray crystallography providing the first direct proof of the cage connectivity of D(2)-C(84)(5). The D(2)-C(84)(5)Cl(32) molecule (see figure; C grey, Cl green) contains two flattened, pyrene-like substructures on opposite poles of the cage resulting in its drum-like shape.