Discoivery of fullerenes

Among the 1996 Nobel Prize one seems to be of special importance: the award for the fullerenes discovery received by Harold Kroto (UK), Robert F.Curl and Richard E.Smalley (USA). Researches of fullerenes during the last years considerably expanded horizons of our hopes about the new process engineering, including treatment of the most terrible diseases, such as AID.
Fullerene is a new form of carbon. They have received this title in honour of the architect Buckminster Fuller, created a geodesic house-cupola based on five- and hexagons. Fullerene can be represented as a high symmetrical carbon structure hollow inside, the surface of which is formed by the regular polygons of atoms. The closed molecular structure has received a title of atomic microcluster. The microclusters of the most various substances, including iron and lead have been already found.
Microclusters are a new phase of a solid with exotic chemical and physical properties. Main among them is the increased reaction activity. They easily seize atoms of other substances and create materials having principally new properties. These properties lie in the basis of the new Carbons stereochemistry permitting to create purposefully new organic molecules and, therefore, Substances of defined forms and properties. We came closer to the understanding of the entity of many active Processes on the molecular level also we are ready to enter the qualitatively other understanding level of material world properties and their usage for the interests of the modern technogen civilisation.
Since 1992 the search program of the Foundation for Intellectual Cooperation "Fullerenes and atomic clusters" has been carried out in Russia. The outcome of this program is the creation of the electronic bibliographic data base, the most full among the existing analogues. Since 1994 about hundred research groups from dozens of regions have been participated in the scientific-technical program of the Ministry of Science and Technologies of the Russian Federation "Fullerenes and atomic clusters". In USA the fullerenes investigations are among the national priorities in the sphere of science.
The most spread type of microclusters is formed by fullerenes. At the beginning of 70th their existence was predicted by soviet chemists D.Bochvar and E.Galpern and Japanese physicist E.Osawa independently from each other. In 1985 they were experimentally found by R.Curl, H.Kroto and R.Smalley, and in 1990 V.Kraecthmar and D.Huffman suggested the new method of their deriving in macroscopic amounts. Since that moment the "boom of fullerenes" has begun and the stream of discoveries concerning their more and more surprising properties started.
C60 the most known among fullerenes by its form is very similar to a football ball, suturing from pentagons and hexagons. The whole family of fullerenes from C28 to C240 has been detected. It is supposed the existence of superfullerenes - a special kind of "molecular matreshka" from carbon stratums.
As carbon is a basic element of a living substance structure, the discovery of its new form has a special significance and forces to reconsider the presentations of fundamental processes, happened by the participation of carbon in alive and lifeless nature. At the same time their application means the nearest technological revolution that results are difficult to foresee.
The fullerenes activity permits to apply them in technological processes, connected with the crystals cultivation, conducting the selective catalytic transformations and, first of all, with deriving completely new materials having artificially ordered electronic, magnetic and optical properties. This is, for example, polymeric materials, possessing the defined magnitude of conductivity or magnetic properties, new catalysts, highselective absorbents, new classes of superconductors, semiconductors, magnetics, segnetoelectrics, nonlinear optical materials. It is real to create a new material 200 times stronger than steel. Fullerenes with a special cluster size of about 10 angstroms can be used as "nanobricks" for the creation of new materials, including high-density information recording. Films obtained on the base of fullerenes, can solve a problem of clearing the polluted surfaces. Increasing the reflection of the surface covered by fullerenes during its laser exposure it by the laser allows to make aeroplanes practically invisible to laser radars. There are new synthesis technologies for diamonds and diamond similar junctions of ultra-high hardness.
One from obvious direct consequences of the fullerenes usage is the decreasing of sizes, power consumption, making the diversified engineering devices and technological processes more ecologic. It will make it possible to improve performances of such devices, as: lasers, photographic films, luminofors, magnetic disks and computers; to create ecologically pure current origins. The most amazing possibility of fullerenes is its purposeful cultivation by chemical methods (in a test-tube) microbricks of sizes comparable with neurons as a fundamental base for computers. As to perspectives, it means the creation of pocket supercomputers. At the same time, the research possibilities are also increased. All this permit to forecast a stream of new discoveries and inventions in all areas, including most unexpected.
Even yesterday researches of the following scale had become, first of all, the basis for the creation of a new terrible weapon and would be a secret also. Today it is mainly the area of opened interdisciplinary researches for peaceful purposes. The international conferences are conducted, the joint researches are carried out.
In connection with a very expensive price of fullerenes (price of 1 gram from 40 dollars for the extract of C60 and C70 up to 65 thousand dollars for C84) their industrial application in engineering is not a question of the nearest future. But the great sensations are waiting for us in the field of the fullerenes application in medicine. The most sensational result is the ability to apply the derivatives of fullerenes for treatment of virus diseases, caused by the AID-infection. Experimental results concerning their action on the AID-virus under the circumstances of intoxication and good bearability in large dozes have been already achieved for animals. The leading reason of today's mortality is atherosclerosis and that's why its treatment by a method of hemosorbtion has received a large development. . Therefore the development of tools for hemosorbition - plasmasorbents on the base of fullerenes has become one of the general results for the experimental medicine. The application "Sorbent for deleting atherogene lipoproteids from blood and the method of its deriving" of St.-Petersburg scientists (Foundation for Intellectual Collaboration) has been registered. It's medical investigation has already begun.
The strategic scientific importance of fullerenes is the following. Thanks to fullerenes, the connection between various natural sciences becomes much more tight. It leads to the extension of scientific outlook of scientists and to the deepening of the outlook horizon of scientific foundation as a whole.

We recommend to look:


The 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The literature:

1.Curl R.F. Dawn of the fullerenes: experimant and conjecture // Rev. Mod. Phys. 1997. Vol. 69, N 3. P. 691-702.
2.Kroto H. Symmetry, space, stars and C60 // Rev. Mod. Phys. 1997. Vol. 69, N 3. P. 703-722.
3.Smalley R.E. Discovering the fullerenes // Rev. Mod. Phys. 1997. N 3. P. 723-730.

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