Lanthanides: Endohedral Fullerenes

Abstract

While many elements have been encapsulated in fullerene cages, the rare earth endohedral fullerenes are by far the most studied. The rare earth endohedral fullerenes can exist in various forms, but this article focuses on the more extensively studied types such as monometallofullerenes, dimetallofullerenes, and cluster fullerenes. The covalent bonding of the rare earth elements or clusters to the carbon cage is an important feature. Just as important is the charge transfer from encapsulated species to the carbon cage, which gives the endohedral fullerenes interesting electronic properties. The electronic properties can lead to novel materials for electronic device fabrication. Medical applications for imaging are also being studied because the fullerene cage protects the organism from the potential toxicity of the free rare earth element.

Get under the Umbrella: A Comprehensive Gateway for Researchers on Lanthanide‐Based Single‐Molecule Magnets

“…The main chemical properties of 4 f-based endohedral fullerenes have been concisely reviewed by D. A. Atwood et al in 2012. [252] In 2015, [253] J. Zhao et al reviewed the magnetic properties of atomic clusters and endohedral fullerenes, with a part dedicated to 4 f-based compounds. Reproduced from [246] with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2008.…”