Endohedral metallofullerenes: An unconventional core-shell coordination union

Endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) are a novel class of metal-carbon hybrid molecules consisting of a fullerene shell and a metal core. Because of the presence of the internal metallic species and charge transfer from metal to cage, EMFs have unique structures and many fascinating properties, which are distinctly different from those of empty fullerenes. The research on EMFs has surprisingly blossomed during recent years, and many practical materials based on EMFs with potential applications in biomedicine, materials science and photovoltaics have been proposed. In this review, we give a systematic and comprehensive summary of the main aspects of EMFs, with emphasis given to experimental results relative to computational work. Finally, perspectives for the future development of EMFs are proposed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.