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Introduction and Classification of Endohedral Metallofullerenes

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Handbook of Fullerene Science and Technology

Abstract

The cavities of the fullerene can provide nanometer-scale space to host a variety of metal(s) or otherwise unstable metal clusters to produce a new class of metallo-organic compounds, known as endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs). These unique hybrid molecules are stabilized by charge transfer and subsequent coordination between the inner metallic units and the outer fullerene cages, which endow EMFs with characteristic physio-chemical properties and structures that differ from empty fullerenes. Compared with traditional empty fullerenes, the charge transfer and subsequent coordination between the inner metallic units and the outer fullerene cage make the formed molecules possess new structures and different physio-chemical properties. Accordingly, we believe that currently described and not yet discovered EMFs will demonstrate enormous potential related to the practical applications in the materials, biology, catalysis, photoelectric conversion, etc. Herein, a systematic and comprehensive summary of the new structures and unprecedented properties of EMFs are presented according to the categories of monometallofullerenes, dimetallofullerenes, trimetallofullerenes, and clusterfullerenes. Finally, perspectives regarding the novel structures and potential applications of EMFs are proposed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Wangqiang Shen, Pengwei Yu & Xinyue Tian

  2. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Xing Lu

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  1. Wangqiang Shen
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  2. Pengwei Yu
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  3. Xinyue Tian
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  4. Xing Lu
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Xing Lu

  2. University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takeshi Akasaka

  3. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Zdeněk Slanina

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  1. Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takeshi Akasaka Ph.D

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China

    Takeshi Akasaka Ph.D

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Shen, W., Yu, P., Tian, X., Lu, X. (2022). Introduction and Classification of Endohedral Metallofullerenes. In: Lu, X., Akasaka, T., Slanina, Z. (eds) Handbook of Fullerene Science and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8994-9_25

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