Two Isomers of C60F48: An Indented Fullerene

Abstract

Deflated buckyballs: The single-crystal structure of C60F48⋅2 (mesitylene) revealed the presence of both D3 and S6 isomers in the same crystal. C(sp2)−C(sp2) bonds (1.30 Å) are much shorter than C(sp3)−C(sp3) bonds (1.54–1.63 Å). The C60 cage is characterized by concave areas in the regions of six double bonds (see picture). Each double bond is effectively shielded by four F atoms, which accounts for the low reactivity of C60F48.