| We are involved in studies of the structure and chemical reactivity
of the fullerenes (C60, C70, C84) and their derivatives.
We have utilized the reversible binding of Vaska's complex, Ir(CO)CI(PPh3)2,
to fullerenes as a structural probe. Such adduct formation produces ordered
single crystals suitable for X-ray diffraction and has yielded the first
three dimensional metric structural information on the higher fullerenes
C70 and C84. Current research plans focus on obtaining
fullerene based materials that display useful properties. Fullerene epoxides
have been shown to undergo cathodic electropolymerization to form tough,
redox active films that may be of technological importance in battery,
microsensor, and microelectronic devices. Efforts to obtain other fullerene
derivatives suitable for polymer formation are under active investigation.
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