Buckminsterfullerene is a nanoparticle characterised by spherical geometry and a hollow interior which contains how many carbon atoms?

The correct answer is 60. 

Key Points

• 60 carbon atoms are organized in interlocking hexagonal and pentagonal rings to form the spherical molecule known as buckminsterfullerene.
• The spherical carbon allotrope known as a buckminsterfullerene (C60) has 60 atoms arranged in pentagons and hexagons, giving it a soccer ball-like form.
• A type of fullerene with the chemical formula C60 is buckminsterfullerene. It is shaped like a football and has a fused-ring construction that resembles a cage. It is made up of twenty hexagons and twelve pentagons. Its 60 carbon atoms are all linked to three of their neighbours.
• Each carbon atom generates three sigma bonds with three other carbon atoms in the fullerene's sp2 hybridization state.

Additional Information

• Carbon fullerene molecules can take on a variety of geometries, including tubes, spheres, cubes, and other pure solids comprised of just one type of atom. A feature of fullerenes is their hollow core, which is an area of empty space inside the molecule.
• Consider a basketball; it has a spherical, leather outside, but a hollow interior where air is trapped to give it its bouncing motion. With a fullerene, the situation is identical. It is entirely composed of carbon, and the interior of the structure is always hollow.
• HIV proteases' hydrophobic cavity can accommodate fullerene, which prevents substrates from reaching the enzyme's catalytic site. It has antioxidant and radical scavenger properties. Fullerene can also produce significant quantum yields of singlet oxygen when exposed to light.