The geometry of small fullerene cages: <i>C</i>20 to <i>C</i>70

Abstract

The ground-state structures of small fullerenes below C70 were determined by tight-binding molecular-dynamics total energy optimization. An efficient simulated annealing scheme was used to generate closed, hollow, spheroidal cage structures for all even-numbered carbon clusters from C20 to C70. As a general trend, fullerenes prefer geometries which separate the pentagonal rings as far apart as possible. Except for C60, C70, and C50, most fullerenes have relatively low symmetries.