All-carbon [60]fullerene oligomers of pearl-necklace type

The formation of all-carbon [60]fullerene derivatives was observed in the course of the thermolysis of methano-fullerene derivatives. IR, UV-Vis, GPC, C-13-NMR, TG-MS, TOF-MS and STM data are consistent with the formation of all-carbon [60]fullerene oligomers without a direct connection between fullerene cages but through one or two carbon atoms as bridges. Molecular masses up to 8000 amu have been detected by mass spectroscopy.