What is the Correct Molecular Weight of Buckministerfullerene (C60)?

[scarecrow]

I have been searching all over for the CORRECT molecular weight of the fullerene C60, also called the buckministerfullerene. The weights I see listed do not account for the HYDROGENS! People assume it's just C60, when actually there are hydrogens sticking out from the cage.

I've searched in the Sigma-Aldrich chemical catalog, but to my surprise they have it listed wrong too (720.66 g/mol).

Does anyone know the correct molecular weight for the fullerene?
Edit: Nevermind. It's C60H60.

 

[gravenewworld]

fullerenes are allotropes of carbon. they are only composed of carbon atoms just like diamonds and graphite. in fact, the only thing known that will protonate C60 is carborane superacid H(CHB11Cl11 which is 1 million times stronger than sulfuric acid.

 

[scarecrow]

My professor was quite adamant that there are hydrogens on the fullerene C60.

 

[Cesium]

C60 is C60. If you could find a piece of literature to back up your claim, I would be surprised. Otherwise, I dare say your professor is wrong.

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

"The fullerenes are a recently-discovered family of carbon allotropes named after Buckminster Fuller. They are molecules composed entirely of carbon, in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, or tube." ~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullerene

Sorry buddy, but either you misheard, your professor is onto a major fallacy in how the whole world does chemistry, or he is wrong.

 

[The P-manator]

How could it be an acid without hydrogen atoms?

 

[dmoravec]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid

Check out the definition of Lewis Acids...these focus on electron transfer as opposed to hydrogen donation. This can make compounds such as AlCl3 an acid.

 

[jpklcapp]

There are NO hydrogens in a "Buckyball" - This structure can be reconciled with the tendency of carbon to form four bonds if one assumes that each C engaged in one double bond and two single bonds with the neighboring carbon atoms. Overall, this results in a structure that has patterns of alternating single and double bonds as one traces the C-C bonding framework. Each carbon lies at the vertex of fused 5- and 6-membered rings.

 

[scarecrow]

I guess my prof wanted us to do some digging, so I found a paper that describes the synthesis of C60H6.

Meier, M. S, Weedon, B. R., Spielmann, H. P. (1996) "Synthesis and Isolation of One Isomer of C60H6" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 118, 11682-11683.