Related papers: 30 years of cosmic fullerenes
Fullerenes are a particularly stable class of carbon molecules in the shape of a hollow sphere or ellipsoid that might be formed in the outflows of carbon stars. Once injected into the interstellar medium (ISM), these stable species survive…
Small cationic fullerene fragments, produced by electron impact ionization of C60, were mass-selected and accumulated in cryogenic Ne matrixes. Optical absorption spectroscopy of these fragments with up to 18 carbon atoms revealed linear…
Since the first laboratory synthesis of C$_{60}$ in 1985, fullerene-related species have been proposed to interpret various astronomical features. After more than 25 years' efforts, several circumstellar and interstellar features have been…
The main goal of this thesis is to unveil some questions related to the formation of complex fullerene-based molecules in space, with the aim of resolving some key problems in astrophysics. The unexpected detections of fullerenes and…
Fullerenes, including \ce{C60} and \ce{C70}, have been detected in various astronomical environments. Understanding how their structures evolve over time is essential for gaining insights into their life cycle and making further…
The Buckminsterfullerene is an inorganic molecule consisting of 60 carbon atoms in the shape of a soccer ball. It was used in [Juhas et al., Nature 2006] to showcase algorithms that find the correct shape of a protein from limited data…
We report a computational study of the stability and infrared (IR) vibrational spectra of neutral and singly ionised fullerene cages containing between 44 and 70 carbon atoms. The stability is characterised in terms of the standard enthalpy…
A family of unusually stable boron cages was identified and examined using first-principles local density functional method. The structure of the fullerenes is similar to that of the B12 icosahedron and consists of six crossing…
Buckminsterfullerene, C60 , is the largest molecule observed to date in interstellar and circumstellar environments. The mechanism of formation of this molecule is actively debated. Despite targeted searches in primitive carbonaceous…
We recently identified several emission bands in the Spitzer-IRS spectrum of the unusual planetary nebula Tc 1 with the infrared active vibrational modes of the neutral fullerene species C60 and C70. Since then, the fullerene bands have…
Buckminsterfullerene (C60) was recently confirmed to be the largest molecule identified in space. However, it remains unclear how, and where this molecule is formed. It is generally believed that C60 is formed from the build up of small…
In recent years, the fullerene species C60 (and to a lesser extent also C70) has been reported in the mid-IR spectra of various astronomical objects. Cosmic fullerenes form in the circumstellar material of evolved stars, and survive in the…
Transformation of amorphous carbon clusters into fullerenes under high temperature is studied using molecular dynamics simulations at microsecond times. Based on the analysis of both structure and energy of the system, it is found that…
The recent detection of fullerene (C$_{60}$) in space and the positive assignment of five diffuse interstellar bands to C$_{60}^+$ reinforce the notion that fullerene-related compounds can be efficiently formed in circumstellar envelopes…
Infrared emission bands with wavelengths between 3-20 {\mu}m are observed in a variety of astrophysical environments [1,2]. They were discovered in the 1970s and are generally attributed to organic compounds [3,4]. However, over 40 years of…
Based on the third allotropic form of carbon (Fullerenes) through theoretical study have been predicted structures described as non-classical fullerenes. We have studied novel allotropic carbon structures with a closed cage configuration…
Fullerenes are an allotrope of carbon having hollow, cage-like structure. Atoms in the molecule are arranged in pentagonal and hexagonal rings, such that each atom is connected to three other atoms. Simple polyhedra having only pentagonal…
We present and discuss carbon-rich compounds of astrochemical interest such as polyynes, acetylenic carbon chains and the related derivative known as monocyanopolyynes and dicyanopolyynes. Fullerenes are now known to be abundant in space,…
We study the electronic states of giant single-shell and the recently discovered nested multi-shell carbon fullerenes within the tight-binding approximation. We use two different approaches, one based on iterations and the other on…
Detections of C60 and C70 fullerenes in planetary nebulae (PNe) of the Magellanic Clouds and of our own Galaxy have raised the idea that other forms of carbon such as hydrogenated fullerenes (fulleranes like C60H36 and C60H18), buckyonions,…