An experimentally observed trimetallofullerene Sm3@I(h)-C80: encapsulation of three metal atoms in a cage without a nonmetallic mediator

Wei Xu; Lai Feng; Matteo Calvaresi; Jia Liu; Yang Liu; Ben Niu; Zujin Shi; Yongfu Lian; Francesco Zerbetto

doi:10.1021/ja400490u

An experimentally observed trimetallofullerene Sm3@I(h)-C80: encapsulation of three metal atoms in a cage without a nonmetallic mediator

J Am Chem Soc. 2013 Mar 20;135(11):4187-90. doi: 10.1021/ja400490u. Epub 2013 Mar 11.

Authors

Wei Xu¹, Lai Feng, Matteo Calvaresi, Jia Liu, Yang Liu, Ben Niu, Zujin Shi, Yongfu Lian, Francesco Zerbetto

Affiliation

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.

PMID: 23465292
DOI: 10.1021/ja400490u

Abstract

We report the synthesis, isolation, and characterizations of the novel trimetallofullerene Sm3@I(h)-C80. Importantly, the experimental X-ray structure of Sm3@I(h)-C80 verified for the first time that three metal atoms can be stabilized in a fullerene cage without a nonmetal mediator. Furthermore, computational studies demonstrated the electronic features of Sm3@I(h)-C80, which are similar to that of theoretically studied Y3@I(h)-C80. Electrochemical studies of Sm3@I(h)-C80 showed a major difference from those of the well-studied isoelectronic species Sc3N@I(h)-C80 and La2@I(h)-C80.