Any of a class of all-carbon molecules whose atoms are arranged in closed hollow shells.
60 , nicknamed buckyball), has 60 carbon atoms arranged in a pattern like that on a standard soccer ball. It is named for R. Buckminster Fuller , whose geodesic dome designs its structure resembles. Chemists have made fullerene derivatives (e.g., with attached hydrogen or halogen atoms or organic groups; see functional group ) and have prepared doped fullerenes (e.g., with alkali metal atoms such as potassium ; see dopant ) that show superconductivity at relatively high temperatures. One or more metal or {{link=noble gas">noble-gas atoms can be trapped in the molecule's hollow interior, resulting in unique complexes called endohedral fullerenes.