Buckminsterfullerene is a type of fullerene with the formula C60. It has a cage-like fused-ring structure (truncated icosahedron) made of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons, and resembles a football. Each of its 60 carbon atoms is bonded to its three neighbors.
Harold Kroto
Many footballs have the same arrangement of polygons as buckminsterfullerene, C60.
C60 solution
Optical absorption spectrum of C 60 solution, showing diminished absorption for the blue (~450 nm) and red (~700 nm) light that results in the purple color.
A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecules consist of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecules may have hollow sphere- and ellipsoid-like forms, tubes, or other shapes.
C60 fullerite (bulk solid C60).
Fullerite (scanning electron microscope image)
C 60 in solution
C 60 in extra virgin olive oil, showing the characteristic purple color of pristine C 60 solutions