US chemists have made a new type of molecular bowl that binds strongly to C70 fullerenes.
hexabenzocoronene
Colin Nuckolls, at Columbia University, New York, and colleagues joined together the proximal carbons of contorted hexabenzocoronenes using solution-based, palladium-catalysed chemistry. The resulting shallow bowl-shaped molecules bind C70 very strongly and are also better than their hexabenzocoronene precursors at stabilising negative charge.
The unique optical, electronic and structural properties of these new bowl-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons provide opportunities to create new organic materials, novel host-guest complexes and improved photovoltaics, says Nuckolls.
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